Brewing Coffee With Stania
by TheVelvetRose 1120
Summary: Tania Banks is in a good place. Then one day an old friend shows up and asks her to keep a secret. Tania knows that secrets are one-way tickets to break-ups, but this isn't her secret to tell. Little does she know that Steve has an old friend with an even bigger secret: one that could have consequences for the entire world. When everyone is hiding something, who do you trust? Book5
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. Hiiii! I'm baaaack! And guess what I brought with me? The first chapter. But you knew that. Updates will not be structured, but hopefully they won't take as long as last time. With that said, enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier.**

 **Chapter One**

 _Snip. Snip-snip._

Strands of hair fell away, pillowing on the floor and in her lap. She idly played with the ones in her lap before tossing it onto the floor with the others.

She was afraid to look. Natasha had been playing with her curls a lot recently, twirling them, biting them, tugging on them. She'd stated one day that she felt she'd had the same look for far too long. She found it disturbing to look the same all the time. Tania supposed that being a super spy where no one used to recognize you required a lot of disguises.

So Natasha had announced that she was going to get a haircut when they were skyping all of the other Avengers. Then she had turned to Tania and said, "You should come with me."

Tania had been confused and a little bit offended. "Is there something wrong with my hair?" She'd asked, parting her bangs self-consciously.

Natasha had shaken her head. "No. But you could do with a new look."

Still a bit offended, Tania had looked over at Pepper, who had seemed to be staring at Tania's hair and mulling the idea over. "You look beautiful, Tania," Pepper had said. "But maybe a new look would be interesting."

Interesting.

Later that day, Tania had stared at herself in the mirror for at least half an hour. She _had_ had the same hairstyle since graduation. Maybe it was time for a change. A good change.

When she and Natasha got to the salon, the hairstylist had fussed over her hair (as hairstylists do) and immediately declared that she was getting rid of the bangs. Tania's hand had flown to her forehead. "But-!" She protested. "My forehead-!"

The hairstylist, Taylor, had pushed Tania's bangs away from her face. "Is fine," she had finished. "Now we can see more of your face."

But she had argued that it was too big, so the hairstylist said that she would fix it but wouldn't reveal how.

So off came the hair and the bangs. Tania mourned them, but there was an excited buzz in the pit of her stomach as she twisted her engagement ring around and around her finger. She wondered what she would look like. She had agreed to be surprised by the new style.

Natasha sat to her right, casually flipping through a fashion magazine. She was probably researching for future disguises should she ever have to pretend to be a fashionista or a famous person or just a rich person. She was flipping a bit too fast to do more than just look at pictures.

"All done!" Taylor announced, stepping back.

Tania looked up into the mirror. There were worry lines between her eyebrows, but those smoothed out as soon as she saw her hair. It was only about an inch or two shorter, but it felt a thousand pounds lighter. She shook her head from side to side. Taylor had layered her hair, which was why it felt so light. There were side bangs. The perfect compromise. Tania had to admit that her old bangs kind of made her look younger, but not in a good way. These ones had a more mature look about them. She brushed them a little further to the side and they fell back into place.

"I love it," she declared. Relief washed over her at the same time that the buzz of excitement grew into a vibration of anticipation of showing it off. Taylor beamed at her and held up a mirror to show her the back. "Still love it."

Taylor removed the cloak or whatever it was called from around Tania's shoulders and swept away, presumably to get a broom – and the bill.

Tania looked over at Natasha, who was waiting for her dye to dry. There was what looked like aluminum foil plastered all over her head like paper maché. All of a sudden, Natasha's stylist returned from the back of the salon and began working on her again. It was obvious that Natasha would take longer.

Tania was willing to wait. She flipped her hair over shoulders and smiled at Natasha. "What do you think?"

Nat glanced up and then looked her up and down. "It's a good look," she commented. "Text Steve a picture. I'm sure he'll want to see."

"Nah," Tania said, fluffing her hair. "I think I'll make him wait for it."

Natasha chuckled, fingering the necklace around her neck. It was shaped like an arrow – a gift from Clint on their last anniversary. They had refused to delve the date, but Tony was pretty close to figuring it out via trial and error.

Tania was content to let the couple have their privacy.

A vision of lines and circles assaulted her and then disappeared. It was the same pattern she had drawn before and even painted, but she always felt compelled to put it to paper. She needed to write it down; to _see_ it. She figured it was some subconscious impulse. Her therapist had suggested that it was a coping mechanism. Tania didn't like to think about it too much. She liked the feeling of drawing. Whenever she drew this abstract piece, she always got lost in time and space.

She removed a sketchpad from the purse sitting on the counter in front of her and rummaged around for her pencil. She couldn't find it. She searched more frantically. She still couldn't find it. "Where _is it_?" She mumbled, her movements getting jerkier.

Oh. There it was. At the very bottom. Muscles she hadn't known were tense uncoiled and relaxed. She immediately set to work, her hand dancing across the page like a person possessed.

"Are you feeling okay?" Tania registered somewhere in the back of her mind that someone (Natasha) was talking to her.

"Yeah fine," she replied automatically.

"Are you nervous about something?"

"No."

"What are you drawing?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you drawing now?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to get lunch after?"

"Sure."

"Ready to go?"

"What?" Tania looked up. Natasha was standing next to her, bright orange hair curving around her pretty face in rounded but straight lines. Tania looked down at the page she had been colouring in. It was completely charcoal except for bold lines and circles of white she left untouched. She had been drawing for longer than she thought. "Right. Yeah. Let's go." She snapped the sketchbook shut and slipped it into her bag, shrugging it over her shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"Lunch," Nat answered as she gave her stylist a hundred dollars. "Keep the change," she said in a tone that left no room for argument. Tania paid for hers with her bank card and the two of them left the salon with fantastic hair.

It was cloudy in New York City that day. It looked like it was going to rain. There was a sort of pulse to the air that announced its arrival to. Barely a few moments after they stepped out the door it started to drizzle. Tania reached into her purse for her umbrella and popped it open. She held it over them as the clacked down the sidewalk, trying not to hit the dozens of other umbrellas suddenly snapping into appearance.

The steady thrum of rain would be soothing if it weren't for the traffic and the car horns and the loud chatter of people that never slept. There were other sounds too. There was the tapping of a cane on the ground and the barks of dogs and ringing of phones, but the rain drowned them out fairly well.

"Think we'll get called on a mission today?" Tania asked conversationally. The rain was good enough cover to talk about this sort of thing (in vague terms, of course, because you could never be too careful).

Natasha hummed. "Probably not. It's too soon after the last one."

Tania and Natasha had gone on a mission together for the first time the week before. They'd been instructed to go to a dance school undercover as dance students and prevent the assassination of one of the rich businessman's daughters who attended the school. The mission had been a complete success. No casualties.

"Do you think we'll get partnered up again?"

"Probably. I don't work well with a lot of people, so those I _do_ work well with, they tend to partner me with whenever I go on a mission that needs one." That was why Natasha and Steve went on so many missions together. That wasn't even counting Strike Team Delta.

"How's Clint?" Tania asked, turning a corner to follow Natasha's lead. She hurried a bit to catch up and keep her friend under the umbrella.

"He says the mission's slow going, but so far so good. He and Stevenson have managed to successfully 'prove' their covers are 'real'. That's all he can say."

Tania nodded. "How often does he make contact?"

Natasha shook her head. "Not often." That was cryptic.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Nothing important."

Tania wanted to know about the unimportant things too, but she figured that if it were meant for her ears, Clint would have radioed her instead. "And his hearing? It's not affecting the mission, is it?"

"No. The hearing aids S.H.I.E.L.D. whipped up for him are serving him well. Practically invisible."

Tania hadn't liked the design because it had reminded her of the comms she'd had to have ripped out of her ear with pliers by un-gentle Hydra followers. She had been comforted some by the fact that the Avengers had blown up their major facility and that she'd killed the head at the time, but it was totally possible that Hydra still existed. She was just thankful that they didn't have any power. If they did, she would have heard of it by now.

"That's good," she murmured.

"How have your solo missions been going?"

"Good, good," she said again. "I always have an extraction team ready, which is nice. Didn't have that at S.I."

Nat's lips twitched in an almost laugh. "Though I think S.I. has better benefits."

Tania chuckled. "They do. I looked into it. Maybe I should've stayed."

"You weren't happy there."

Tania stared at her shoes. "I was for a while."

"But then shit happened," Nat finished for her. "I get it."

"I feel totally cut off from them. I worry, sometimes. Peter took over after I left."

"Parker?"

"No. Peter Wood. He works in the department with me. He was one of my friends at work. I hope he's doing okay without me. We parted on good terms."

"That's good to hear. What about the Bitch?"

Tania may have gossiped about Mindy somewhat. "Still a bitch last I checked. And I lost Drew's number. I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad. There's nothing you can do. She can call you."

"Yeah." But she wasn't going to. "So where are we going?"

"A hole in the wall."

"Sounds great."

Natasha, who had been to Washington before on a mission with Clint that was classified, had taken to showing Tania and Steve the best places to eat around town. So far, so amazing. Clint apparently had a knack for finding the best places to find food. Tania suspected outside help (namely an app).

Lunch turned out to be Belgian waffles. It was delicious. Unfortunately, she couldn't enjoy all of it because her phone buzzed in her purse, reminding her that she had an appointment with Dr. Nabila Diallo. She apologized profusely to Natasha, stuffed the rest of her waffles into her mouth, and promised to pay Nat back for the bill. She heard Natasha tell her not to worry about it before she was off.

* * *

Tania liked Dr. Diallo. She was much kinder than three out of five of Tania's previous therapists. Diallo had dark skin and short, black hair with chocolate eyes to make you melt. She also had the smoothest complexion of anyone Tania had ever met and she was incredibly jealous. Diallo was also soft-spoken, but firm when need be and absolutely refused to divulge anything about her other patients. Natasha had tested her and approved.

So Diallo became Tania's therapist. They had one appointment every week scheduled the morning of because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s not exactly structured schedule. Tania was on-call twenty-four/seven and at the Triskelion from seven to three Monday to Friday.

Being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent wasn't all about the missions. It was about debriefings and case reports and interrogations of criminals and gadget inventions and tracking enemies and dealing with the World Security Council and testing alien technology and exploring the unknown. There was never a dull moment (okay that was a lie). Tania was mainly in charge of marketing and advertising (as that was her specialty). However, it was a pretty boring job because S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing its best to remain secretive.

Whenever something big happened, like the Chitauri incident or the Extremis incident or the Dark Elves incident, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s marketing department would cover it up as best they could and try to keep the public calm. Tania wasn't a big fan of this job because she believed that the people should know exactly what was happening so that they could be prepared for similar things to happen again, but Fury was adamant that it _wouldn't_ happen again.

Tania had been working on the fall-out of the Master of Evil incident ever since that video Stane had published gone viral. Spider-Man had helped somewhat, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had been frantically picking up the pieces of a continually disapproving public opinion.

Now that the hubbub with Loki's return was over, Tania's department was mainly used to make sure agents kept a low profile; particularly agents undercover. Tania had wanted to watch over Clint, but that was for his handler Jasper Sitwell. Sitwell had parted on a mission a few days prior, though, so Tania had been able to radio Viola a few times and make sure things were going smoothly.

Dr. Diallo sat through Tania's complaints about her job without complaint. One thing that Tania really liked about Dr. Diallo was that she always looked like she was listening intently and that she cared. And she never asked, "How does that make you feel?" Most of the time, she was the one who told Tania exactly what she was feeling with the deadly accuracy of Hawkeye. Another check in her corner was that she wasn't associated with the S.H.I.E.L.D. like Tania's first two therapists. They were ass-hats. Dr. Diallo was from Wakanda, Africa, where they made vibranium. She told Tania once that she had seen things that made the Chitauri look like mice.

Today, Dr. Diallo told Tania that it was a good day. Despite the ominous weather, Tania felt much better than she had last June. While sparing Loki had done wonders for Tania's self-deprecating nature about her conscience, PTSD didn't just magically go away. But today… it felt like it had.

Dr. Diallo closed her notebook and uncrossed her legs. "Well, I think we're done here."

Tania sat up in surprise. "Really? I've been here for like thirty minutes."

Dr. Diallo smiled knowingly. "You don't need to be here. Go have fun."

Tania stared for a few seconds before grinning. "Thanks, Doc Di. See you next week?"

"Different time, same place?"

Tania laughed. "Of course!"

 **A/N. I felt like starting off on a calm, sort of domestic note because you all know the plot and the action that's coming. I figured I'd start somewhere you guys aren't familiar with. Hope you liked the chapter and feel free to let me know in a review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N. Only Chapter 2 and I already don't like a chapter - some critique is very welcome :) Enjoy.**

 **P.S. Last chapter I wrote that Tania and Nat were in NYC by accident. They're actually in Washington, DC. Sorry about that.**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the Avengers.**

 **Chapter Two**

There was the sensation of draining water. Tania felt as if she was a rock submerged in a sea, the waves gently lapping. Then someone pulled the plug and the water level began to lower. The density felt lighter and the sun began to shine more brightly. The water pulled back and away and Tania opened her eyes slowly, breathing deeply.

The sun penetrated the room through a crack in the curtains, showering the bed with light. Tania hummed and shifted. The rustling of sheets were loud in the silence of the room. There were paws on her back and a tongue on her neck. She blinked her eyes open and squinted at the blurry alarm clock over by Steve's side of the bed.

05:55

Satisfied, she pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. Rocky chased his tail excitedly, running around in circles and messing up the covers. Tania chuckled and felt Steve's rumpled side of the bed. Cold. Just like it was every morning.

Steve went for a run at five in the morning, every morning - even on weekends. She understood his need for routine and his need for time alone, but it was getting tiresome to wake up in bed without him every morning when they could wake up together. They were both early risers. She missed brewing coffee for him every day and laughing over their horrible attempts to cook breakfast.

They went to bed together as many nights as they could, but Fury was keeping Steve pretty busy with missions left and right. When Tania wasn't at her nine-to-five or her therapist, she was on missions as well. Very rarely had they been sent on one together. There was that one time near Latveria, but that was it.

She reached for her nightstand and grabbed her phone, unplugging it from the wall. The screen lit up, revealing four missed texts.

 _Tony just fell asleep at work._ Accompanying this text was a photo of Tony snoring on his desk, coffee spilled onto all the papers in front of him, and a coloured in-beard (with permanent marker). Bending over him with a thumbs up was Betty, holding the uncapped marker. Pepper was stifling her laughter from a chair to the right, partly cut off by the edge of the screen.

Tania smiled and sent back an _lol_. She continued scrolling.

There was a text from Tony. _If you leak that picture I will murder you._

Chuckling, she began typing. _Who do you think I am? Darcy?_

Natasha had sent her a text sometime last night after she and Tania had gone to the movie the theatre. _Had fun, but the movie sucked. I pick next time :)_

 _In my defense, the choices were limited_ , Tania responded.

The fourth one was just her phone company telling her to pay her bill. Right. She'd have to do that today.

Just as she was about to set the phone down, it vibrated with another text. _Gone for a mission with Nat. Don't wait up for me._ It was Steve.

Tania sighed again and slipped out of bed. Rocky jumped after her, following at her heels. She ambled over to the curtains and pulled them apart. The room practically glowed. Still carrying her phone, she padded over to the door and exited into the living room. She deposited the device on the counter and headed straight for the coffee maker. She and Steve were experimenting with a new brand of beans. She liked them, but Steve wasn't a big fan. Regardless, they were going to finish the bag before moving on to a new brand.

The machine began whirring loudly, drowning out any stray thoughts Tania may have had. She opened the fridge and pulled out a pre-made yogurt parfait. She closed the door with her hip and opened a nearby drawer to grab a spoon. It slowed down before closing to prevent loud noises. She opened a low cupboard and grabbed the dog food. She poured it into Rocky's bowl and he dug in eagerly.

The coffee machine quietened and she poured herself a cup. Once she had her mug and her bowl, she grabbed her phone with her pinky and ring finger of the hand holding the yogurt and made her way over to the loveseat. She placed her things on the coffee table and sat cross legged on the couch, reaching for the remote. Rocky hopped into her lap and made himself comfy. She flicked the television on and found the news channel just as the clock hit six.

The theme song for WHIH news played as Tania grabbed her mug and took a sip of her coffee. Reporter Christine Everheart (and Tony's old flame) smiled at the camera. "Good morning, this is WHIH news. I'm Christine Everheart and you're listening to Around the World at Six.

"A new villain has come to the attention of New Yorkers, terrorizing high schools and skateboard parks. He seems to be targeting teens. He calls himself the Iron Monger, an obvious reference to billionaire Tony Stark's Iron Man. If only the so-called superhero could keep his weapons out of the wrong hands."

Tania scoffed. Everheart obviously still had some resentment towards Tony.

"Thankfully, the vigilante known as Spider-Man has been fighting him at every turn. He claims not to need the Avengers for such a low-level threat. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens. WHIH news will keep you updated.

"In other news, Pym Technologies is reported to have been involved in a previous scandal with Stark Industries that is just now coming to light. Joan Stuntman has that story."

As Ms. Stuntman blabbered on about Hank Pym and Howard Stark, Tania's phone vibrated again. _True._ It was a text from Natasha. Wait. Two texts from Natasha. _Don't text me or Steve. We'll be on a mission for the next little while._

 _How long?_

 _Don't know. Twenty-four hours at most._

Tania sighed. _Okay. I'll stop texting you now. Be safe. Both of you._

 _Will do._

"… Sokovian protests are getting out of hand. Protesters are rioting in the streets and breaking everything in sight. Authorities have authorized the use of tear gas and have made twelve arrests just this morning.

"The African country of Wakanda doesn't seem to be handling things much better. Some say that they are in a state of constant paranoia. Wakanda is one of the world's leading export countries because of its mines and resources. Because those resources are so valuable, Wakandans often come under attack. Kevin Frosh has that story."

Tania's phone vibrated again. It was Tony. _Check this out._ He sent a screenshot of a news headline accompanied by a photo of Spider-Man locked in battle with the Iron Monger. The headline read _SPIDER-MAN REFUSES HELP AND ENDANGERS KIDS_. Tania read the name of the newspaper. The Daily Bugle. Of course. They hated Peter with a passion.

 _Bzzzt!_ Tania checked her texts once again. _It's Stane. Peter let him get away and now he wants revenge._

 _For… letting him get away?_

 _I don't understand it either._

"… and finally, Sharzad's terrorist groups threaten to sell Stark weaponry to groups like ISIS and the Ten Rings." _Oh no._ Sharzad was where Clint and Viola were located. They had been tasked with taking Dagan Sha's arms dealing business and burning it to the ground from the inside. They were deep undercover. Tania hoped they could accomplish their mission soon and come home.

"And now for The Doc Report: the weekly documentary about missing children in America. This morning we'll be discussing some of the children who've been missing for more than _twenty_ years." Everheart didn't possess an ounce of sympathy. That made her perfect for her job, Tania thought bitterly. "Today, we'll be looking at the sad story of Peter Quill-"

Tania switched the TV off and sighed. Maybe Steve had been assigned to peace keep in Wakanda? That was where vibranium came from. Maybe there was a connection…? Tania didn't know. If she had to guess-

 _Knock-knock-knock-knock!_

Rocky began to bark. Tania hushed him quickly and set down her breakfast. Maybe it was Kate asking for a cup of sugar? Tania opened the door.

Drew stood there, shivering and hunched over, clutching a large purse to her chest. She looked up. She was pale as a corpse and the bruises on her neck and face made a stark contrast with the whiteness of her skin. Her blonde hair seemed to be thinning and the collar of her blouse was torn, revealing even more bruises.

She looked like she'd just been mugged.

"Oh my God!" Tania exclaimed, stepping back to let Drew in. Rocky circled her ankles. Once she was inside, Tania peeked into the hallway for followers and then closed and locked the door. She took Drew by the shoulders and began examining her. "What happened to you? Here. Come on." She led her former co-worker over to the couch and sat her down. "I'll get you a coffee. Do you want something to eat?"

Drew shook her head.

Tania returned moments later with the drink and handed it to Drew, who accepted it with a very quiet, "Thank you." Rocky was licking her face enthusiastically.

Tania leaned forward. "Drew… what happened?"

"I… I don't want to talk about it." Understandable. But then…

"Why did you come all the way over here?" Drew lived in _New York_. What had scared her away? Had it been Stane? Had there been a close call?

"I… didn't know where else to go," Drew mumbled, holding the hot mug in her hands and staring into its murky depths. "I… lost all my other friends."

"Lost them?" Tania repeated. But… Drew had been so nice! "What about Peter?"

Drew shook her head. "He… I alienated him – all of them."

"Why?"

Drew didn't speak for a very long time. The silence was stifling, broken only by the two of them fidgeting awkwardly on the couch. Finally, Drew spoke, but very softly. "My… _ex_ -boyfriend."

… oh. Oh dear. Okay. That explained the bruises. Tania really had no idea what to do. "Um." Maybe there was a shelter or some organization she could call for this sort of thing? "Do you want me to call someone? Your mom or dad or…?"

Drew shook her head. "No. There's… there's no one. I pushed them all away."

"I'm sure your parents will take you back."

"I've never had a bigger fight with them in my entire life."

"But they're your parents!" Tania's own experience with parents was pretty limited (and not great), but she knew that parents were supposed to love their children unconditionally. "Won't they-?"

"Maybe," she admitted. "But I don't want to face them. I just want to be alone. Lick my wounds, you know? But he just kept _finding_ me. Everywhere I went… he was always there. He always found out. I had to go farther. I had to get out of there. I had to."

"I understand," Tania assured. "Did you have a plan when you came here?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. I don't want to intrude, but I felt I _had_ to-"

"You're not intruding, trust me. I was getting ready for a day of lounging around and overall laziness."

Drew suddenly looked panic stricken. "Your boyfriend! He's not home, is he?"

Tania shook her head, still getting used to the lightness of her short hair.

Drew breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here."

"But…" Tania's brows furrowed. "Where are you planning on staying?"

"I… I don't know. But I'll figure something out. I just… needed someone to know where I was so that if I went missing…" She trailed off, biting her lip and continued staring into her coffee.

"Is it that bad?" Tania whispered.

She nodded.

"Okay, well, I think you should stay here."

"No, please-"

"Just hear me out."

Drew pressed her lips together, but didn't comment.

"You'll be protected here. Captain America lives here. No one can get you here."

"I… I don't want him to trace me to you."

"If he does, we'll fight him. And we'll _win_."

"No, no, I mean- he knows we used to work together. He might think that I would come here. I think it would be better if I stayed somewhere else and avoided that altogether."

Tania frowned. "But if he does find you, you'll be alone."

"But if I'm alone, there's less of a chance of him finding me."

The frown deepened. "Is that really what you're willing to risk?"

Drew nodded. "I've thought long and hard about this and that's what I want."

"But is it what you _need_?"

"It's what I'm doing."

Tania wasm't happy with her decision, but Drew was an adult and could make her own. "Where are you going to go?"

"I'll find a place."

"Where?"

"I don't know," Drew deadpanned. She seemed to be getting annoyed. Annoyed was at least better than wounded.

"Well… there's an apartment in this building that's for rent."

Drew looked up. "Really? Do you think I could…?"

"Totally! They just have a thing about paying upfront."

Drew's face fell. "I don't… money's kind of complicated right now."

Tania was not about to let this compromise go. "I'll give you the money." At the sight of her friend's face, Tania rushed to continue. "You can pay me back! Just wait until you get back on your feet. I'll even charge you interest if you want."

Drew chuckled. "That's alright. The total amount is fine. If you're sure this is no trouble-"

"It's not. We have enough money. It's fine."

Drew nodded, finally taking her first sip of coffee. "Thank you," she whispered.

Once Tania assured Drew that Steve wouldn't be coming back any time soon, Tania went out for a drive. She hopped into the yellow fiat Tony had gotten her for her birthday and drove to the bank to make a quick withdrawal. Ever since they'd moved to DC, Steve and Tania had joined a lot of their accounts. They shared a phone bill, rent (that one was obvious), groceries, and they even had a joint bank account. They had separate ones too, but they had decided to join their RRSPs, in a sense. This joint account was the only one with enough money to make the payment.

She returned home and together, she and Drew managed to heckle the landlord downstairs to let her move in immediately. Tania then loaned her an air mattress and ordered her a pizza. Drew thanked her profusely and promised to pay her back and more before the next month's rent was needed.

Tania blushed and assured her that it was no problem. "I'm glad you came to me. I'm here for you whenever you need me."

Drew almost cried.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N. I hope you enjoy chapter 3 :D**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the Avengers or Captain America or some of the dialogue from this chapter. If it's familiar, I don't own it.**

 **Chapter Three**

Tania had caught Steve lying to her on several occasions.

Whenever he said that he was going for a mission or to HQ, he would be gone for _hours and hours_. He would leave without his uniform or his shield and he would always bring a baseball cap even though he never wore one in public when he was with her. She found ticket stubs for the Smithsonian in his sweater once when she was doing the laundry. What had he been doing at a museum? She hadn't asked him. She figured that if he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

But he hadn't.

She wondered why he would hide something like that from her. What was at the Smithsonian? Maybe he was embarrassed he'd gone? Whatever it was, she trusted him. Steve trusted her as well.

So when he came home that afternoon looking sufficiently depressed, she waited for him to tell her what had happened. A mission gone wrong, maybe? A phone call from Tony? That always seemed to put him in a bad mood.

She asked him how the mission went and he said that it had been successful. _Successful_. That didn't mean that it had gone according to plan or that something hadn't gone wrong.

"What happened?" She asked point blank, tossing the dish rag into the sink and walking over to the couch, where he'd plopped himself with a sigh.

"Fury's being difficult," he said, removing his baseball cap.

Finally, they were getting somewhere. It was still vague, but an answer was an answer. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee comfortingly. "Fury's an asshole."

Steve chuckled. "Sometimes." He looked more downcast than she had seen him in a while.

"Hey," she whispered softly, caressing his jaw. "What's going on? Talk to me. It's about more than just Fury, isn't it?"

He sighed. "Maybe."

"Steve…"

Why wasn't he telling her? She understood that some missions were classified, but he was just plain ignoring her.

"Please."

"For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right," he said almost immediately. It was as if he'd been bursting to tell her and only just now decided that the time was right. "I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore."

"Steve…"

"And I thought I could…" He plowed on as if uninterrupted. "… throw myself back in. Follow orders. Serve. It's just not the same."

Tania didn't know what to say. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his bicep. He leaned his head on hers and they sat there, staring at the black screen of the TV in silence.  
After a while, Tania found her words. "I think it's not the same… because it isn't. We're not at war, Steve. There's no looming threat. You're not a soldier anymore."

"I'll always be a soldier."

"The world is different now. You know this better than most. But what's right and wrong is essentially still the same. Helping people and saving lives is what you do. That will always be what's right."

"I'm not sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. has the same priorities."

This was news to her. "What makes you think that?"

Steve sighed again and rested his head on the back of the couch. "Things are just so much more complicated now. Morals used to be black and white. Now there's so much grey that nothing is distinct."

"Yes there is. Killing is wrong. Saving people is right. Whatever else changes, that will always stay the same." She had learned that, if nothing else, from the Return of Loki incident.

"Will it? Can you promise me that?"

Tania had no answer. "Why are you such a pessimist today?"

"Maybe it's the weather."

"Steve. It's a beautiful, sunny day. Come on." She stood up and tugged him off of the loveseat. "Let's go enjoy it."

It bothered her that he avoided all of her questions prodding for specifics. It bothered her that Natasha had texted her hours ago to notify her of their safe return. It bothered her that Steve showed up way later than he was expected and he didn't bother to give her a reason.

Maybe it was just stress. Maybe something really awful had happened and he wasn't ready to talk about it. Maybe he didn't think she would understand. Whatever the case, she decided to wait to tell him about Drew. He didn't need this right now and he didn't seem to want to ask how _her_ day had gone.

She took him out to lunch and they had a quiet, reserved little date. It was cute and they exchanged small talk, but there was something simmering under the surface of their words. Tania couldn't pinpoint what it was yet, but there was definitely something there. She hoped it was something good.

"There's actually something I want to do today," Steve said after a lull in the conversation while they waited for the cheque.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I met this guy while jogging yesterday and he works at the VA."

"The what?"

"Veterans Affairs."

"Oh, he's a soldier too?"

"Yeah. Did two tours before coming here."

"Interesting."

"Anyway, we kind of hit it off and he said I could come visit him any time."

"Are you, God forbid, making _friends_?" She teased, nudging him under the table with her foot.

He smiled lopsidedly at her. "Maybe."

"That's great! I want to meet him."

"Great. Let's go."

He drove them to the VA on his bike and let her get off first, as per usual. She stepped off the motorcycle and looked up at the building. It was actually quite a nice building. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but gorgeous architecture hadn't been it.

She followed him inside, where they heard a voice say words of encouragement, presumably a group of people. They peered into the doorway and Tania saw a black man standing at a podium in front of an audience. Steve leaned against the wall and Tania stood next to him, listening.

"Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase? Or in a little man purse? It's up to you." There was something about his voice that was soothing. His words were positive, but serious.

Tania wondered how Steve carried his baggage. Sometimes she felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. She would do anything to lighten that load. That "stuff" that Sam (or she presumed was Sam) was talking about needed to loosen its hold on her boyfriend. Maybe _this_ was where he'd been going all the time. Had he been experiencing some PTSD? Had something been triggered in him that sent him into panic attacks? She knew he had nightmares; they both did. But they were infrequent nowadays and she had thought…

Maybe she had thought wrong.

They stayed until the end of the session and waited until the veterans spilled out into the streets before approaching Sam, who had seen them earlier and was apparently expecting them.

"Look who it is," he said with a smile, reaching for the paperwork on a nearby table. "The Running Man." His eyes slid over to Tania. "Tania Banks, right? The Singing Woman?"

She nodded, chuckling. "That's me."

"Caught the last few minutes," Steve said, leaning on the wall again. Was that his way of trying to be casual? "It was pretty intense."

"Yeah, brother," Sam responded, shuffling papers and pamphlets. "We all got the same problems. Guilt. Regret." He didn't seem to be in a very cheery mood, unlike what Steve had described to her. He seemed to be thinking about something rather… morbid.

"You lose someone?" Steve asked quietly.

Sam nodded. "My wingman: Riley. Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before – til an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky." He swallowed. "Nothing I could do." He looked away and Tania's heart ached for him. "It's like I was up there just to watch."

"I'm sorry," Steve told him somberly.

"My condolences," she offered.

"After that…" Sam continued, "I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"

Tania did know. What would it be like to fight without Steve? Without the Avengers? What would it be like to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. without her friends and family? Even if she didn't _know_ , she understood and she sympathized.

Steve fumbled for words for a second. "Well, are you happy now? Back in the world?" That seemed like a loaded question. Or maybe it was just her.

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about… zero?" He looked around as if searching for a general who was going to kick his ass for not standing straight (except he was, but that wasn't the point). "So hell yeah." He smiled genuinely for the first time since meeting him. "You thinking about getting out?"

Steve shook his head immediately. Tania was confused. Steve wasn't a soldier anymore. He wasn't in the army. Was Sam talking about leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"No," Steve replied. A beat. "I don't know."

"What?" Tania voiced, staring at him in disbelief. "What do you mean you don't know? Why would you quit? What would you do?"

Steve shrugged. "I really have no idea."

Sam made a face that suggested that he had an idea. "Ultimate fighting?"

Steve huffed out a laugh.

Tania's mind was still whirling from the thought of Steve quitting S.H.I.E.L.D. She knew Fury pissed him off, but… _leave S.H.I.E.L.D.?_ Did that mean leaving the Avengers? What was Steve _thinking_?

"Just a great idea off the top of my head," Sam half-joked, trying to keep the mood light. Tania admired him for that. He eyed her for a second before speaking again. "Seriously, you could do whatever you wanna do. What makes you happy?"

Steve looked over at Tania and she looked over at him. His lips quirked upward. "You do."

Well damn it all if her heart didn't just melt. She took his hand in hers and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "You're so sweet. But loving me ain't gonna pay the bills."

He chuckled. "No, it won't. I don't really know what I'd do if I got out."

"Draw?" She suggested.

"Personal trainer?" Sam piped up.

"Self defense teacher?"

"Avenger?"

"Go to school?" At that, they both turned to her. "What? It's never too late to get an education. Why not get a degree? Study something you love?" How did she get from _"You're thinking about leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.?"_ to _"Leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. is perfectly okay"_?

Steve half-smiled at them both. "I'll think about it."

* * *

Walking down the steps of the building, Tania confronted him. "How long have you been thinking about leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Steve pursed his lips. "Not long."

"Were you ever planning to tell me?"

"Not until I had a concrete plan."

"Okay, I can understand that." They came to his bike, but neither of them made a move to get on. "But why would you consider quitting?"

He fiddled with his keys, swinging them around and around and running his fingers along the edges. He was always losing his keys. Tania found the spare ones all over the apartment; in between couch cushions, behind the TV, on the dish rack, _everywhere_.

"I just… it's not…"

"The same?"

He nodded.

"Steve… it's never going to be the same. But maybe… if you wanted… you could… enlist… if that would make it more similar… I don't know." She felt as if something in her throat had swollen to the size of a golf ball, preventing her from speaking. She hadn't heard from Graham in a while and she worried about him every single day. If Steve was also overseas… she had no idea how she'd be able to live her life knowing that two of the most important people in her life were far away and in danger.

"Hey." His voice brought her back from her fears and his fingers on her chin caused her eyes to flicker to his. "That's not going to fix anything."

"Is something broken?" She whispered.

He shook his head, his hand lingering beneath her jaw. "No. I just… I'm having a bit of a… midlife crisis."

A laugh burst out of her. She slapped a hand over her mouth and forced the rest of them down. "You're only twenty-five. Even if you count the other years, which makes you ninety-five, it's still the wrong time to have a _mid_ life crisis."

"Well, I'm having some sort of crisis and I don't know what to do. I just don't feel like S.H.I.E.L.D. is where I should be."

"Peggy and Howard founded S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I know. That's part of the reason I've stayed. But it's different now."

"There was no S.H.I.E.L.D. when you-"

"There was the S.S.R. which was pretty much the same thing. Look, Tania, I just want to do the right thing."

"No one can tell you what that is," she stated. "What's right and wrong for me could be different for you. _You_ need to figure out what _you_ think is right."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said. Forget that. Like Sam said, do what _you_ want to do and I'll support you."

"Really?"

"Of course."

That didn't mean that she was any happier with him for not telling her anything until it was brought up by someone else. That feeling that something was simmering beneath the surface began to grow hot in Tania's gut as she climbed onto the back of the bike and slid her helmet on.

Something was coming.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N. So far so good, update-wise. Fingers crossed that the pattern continues! Enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own a lot, but I own Tania, Drew, and Rocky. Again, some of the dialogue isn't mine.**

 **Chapter Four**

Despite the foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach, Tania decided that she wanted to act as if she felt nothing. She suggested that the two of them go out to dinner at a funky new restaurant that just opened up downtown. They went.

It was uneventful and kind of boring, if she was being honest. All the while, that stupid, ominous feeling wouldn't go away. She didn't feel like eating, so she munched quietly on a salad and skipped dessert she would normally share with Steve.

She even refused coffee.

What had happened to their relationship? They used to be so romantic and cute and _happy_. They were getting _married!_ Why did she feel like a clam lately whenever she was around him?

Mulling this over, she and Steve left the restaurant as the sky became dark and grey with clouds. There wasn't a single star in the sky. Lost in her thoughts during the motorcycle ride, she didn't realize that their destination wasn't home until Steve cut the engine.

She popped off her helmet and shook out her hair. "What are we doing here?" She asked. They had parked at a bank.

Steve removed his helmet as well and craned his neck to look at her. "I spent all of my cash on dinner. I need to withdraw some more."

"You couldn't have done that tomorrow?"

"Now's as good a time as any."

Grudgingly, she hopped off the bike and leaned against it while he went in to make his withdrawal. The breeze tugged at her loose strands of hair and she pulled the elastic down, letting her locks billow in the wind. She sighed and closed her eyes. She just wanted to go home.

She heard his footsteps and opened her eyes. His gait was so familiar that she could pick it out of a crowd. Natasha taught her how to utilize her second most dependent sense.

He was scowling. What now?

"What's wrong?" She asked, brows furrowed in concern.

"Where did several thousand dollars of our money go?"

Oh. That. Shit. "I made a withdrawal."

"I can see that." Okay. He was definitely pissed, though he looked like he was trying not to take it out on her – and failing. "Where did it _go_?"

"I… loaned it to a friend."

"A friend," he repeated in a disbelieving tone.

"I have friends!" She insisted, slightly offended.

"So you leant Natasha some money?"

"Not Natasha. Drew."

"Who's Drew?"

"A former co-worker."

"From Stark Industries?"

"Exactly."

"Why are you loaning him money?"

"I loaned _her_ money because she needed it." At his exasperated expression, she continued on. "Now you know how it feels to have all of your questions be met with cryptic answers."

"What are you talking about?"

"I had to cajole you into telling me about your day just this morning. Every time I asked you for specifics, you deflected the question."

" _You're_ deflecting the question right now. What does she need money for?"

"She's on the run."

"You're loaning money to a fugitive?"

"From her abusive ex-boyfriend!"

"Oh." He seemed to deflate. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you needed to know."

"So you spent thousands of dollars of _our_ money and decided that I didn't need to know?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"It seemed like you already had so much on your plate and I didn't want to add to that load – not that I have any idea what the hell is on that plate since you won't _tell me-_ "

"How long has that money been missing?"

"It's not _missing_. I used it to make a down payment on Drew's temporary apartment just yesterday. It's not like I've been lying to you."

"No. You've just been keeping secrets from me about something that affects both of us-"

"Don't you go using the secret card on me! You know who keeps secrets in this relationship? You do!"

"Don't turn this around-"

"Who says he's going on missions all the time, but leaves his shield at home? Who decides to wear baseball caps to hide his identity whenever he goes for jogs? You don't wear hats when you _jog_. Whose jacket did I find ticket stubs for a museum in when you said you'd been at work? _You_."

He looked somewhere between "busted" and "angered". "I- That's different-"

"No, it isn't!" She yelled, her voice echoing in the mostly empty parking lot. "I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine!" Had that really been her intent when she'd decided not tell him about Drew? She had to admit that she had been aware of that effect when she'd made the choice…

"This has to do with money that the _both of us_ worked hard for!"

"And _this_ has to do with our relationship that _you're_ ruining!"

"I'm not ruining our relationship!"

"Well, _something_ is!"

Breathing a little off, Steve and Tania stared each other down in the dark lot of a bank they frequented, the wind whistling in their ears. Tires squealed and horns honked in the distance. Someone's dog barked across the street.

Without a word, Steve threw himself over the bike and plopped his helmet on so that she couldn't see his face. Fuming, she followed suit and the two of them of sped off for home.

* * *

The ride was silent and tense. Having her arms wrapped around his waist no longer felt soothing or romantic – it felt forced and weird. They parked in their usual spot and walked up the stairs together, giving each other a wide berth.

When they reached their floor, they heard voices.

"Yeah, no worries. I'll show you. I have to put my scrubs in the machine. I just finished a rotation in the infectious disease ward so…"

"Oh, geez. Okay. Lead the way."

Tania froze while Steve climbed the final step and turned the corner into the hallway. The first voice belonged to Kate, their neighbour. The second one belonged to Drew.

There was an undignified squeak and Tania winced. That would be Drew as well.

Sighing quietly, Tania trudged up the rest of the stairs and came into view. Kate was holding a basket of laundry and dressed in her pyjamas. There was a phone in the basket, but that wasn't the weirdest part. Drew was dressed in her pyjamas as well and she was attempting to hide behind Kate. When Drew spotted Tania, she stopped hiding. "Tania?"

Steve put two and two together; she could see it in his face.

"Hi, Drew," Tania greeted, trying to be warm, but failing miserably.

"Um, I just came to ask how the laundry machine worked, but I ran into Kate and she's going to show me how."

"Great." Tania wanted this conversation to be over. _Now_.

Kate seemed to pick up on the tension between the couple and gently nudged Drew. "Come on. I'll take you to the laundry room." The two of them left, sneaking glances at the Avengers as they did.

"You still could have told me earlier," Steve said coldly.

Tania felt like she'd blown a fuse. "You know what, _Captain America_? Drew's life is none of your goddamn business. You lying to me directly to my face? That's _my_ goddamn business. If you had asked about Drew or the money, I would have told you-"

"Were you ever going to tell me otherwise?"

"Of course I would! You were going to find out eventually."

"So you were just going to wait until I put the pieces together myself."

 _Maybe_. "She's just gone through a terrible ordeal and doesn't need her story spread-"

"Shh!"

"Don't you 'shh' me!"

" _SHH_!" He pressed a finger to her lips and stared at the wall next to them, listening. That's when Tania heard it too.

There was music playing.

"Did we leave the radio on?" He whispered.

Tania shook her head. They hadn't turned it on in weeks.

Suspicious now, Steve pulled his hands away. "I'm going to sneak in through the window and check it out. If you don't hear a signal from me in five minutes, break down the door and call for help."

She nodded. He walked calmly back toward the stair case and made his way down. Tania reached into her right boot and pulled out a knife. It was a gift from Natasha. It was small, but sharp and could fit almost anywhere; in a bra, a shoe, a purse. It folded up into a case so that it didn't poke her when she moved and looked like mascara to the average person.

She unfolded it and pressed herself against the wall by the door. She listened. She stood there as smooth jazz played in the background. The sound quality was different. It sounded like the record player Steve had received for his birthday. Neither of them has listened to it for several weeks and when they had… that hadn't been the record they'd been listening to.

Her legs were starting to tingle and she worried that the neighbours would come out and see her holding a knife, staking out her own door. She checked her phone. Three minutes had gone by.

The door opened and Steve stood there, shield hooked onto one arm and an unamused expression on his face. She refused to thank him for opening the door and made her way inside, still clutching the knife tightly.

Sitting in the armchair with Rocky sleeping on his feet was Nick Fury. "What the hell, Nick?" She exclaimed, lowering her weapon.

"My wife kicked me out," he said in that deadpan tone of his.

"You're married?" She asked scathingly. She was not a happy camper right now and she needed someone on whom to unleash her wrath.

"There's a lot of things you two don't know about me."

"Like the fact that you're-" she spat at him while Steve flicked on the lamp.

Fury was illuminated – along with all of his many injuries. Tania's eyes widened as Fury held up a hand to prevent them from speaking. Hesitantly obedient, Steve and Tania remained silent as Fury turned the lamp off again. He typed something out on the phone he was holding and held it out for them to see. Tania squinted.

 _EARS EVERYWHERE_

Steve exhaled in exasperated understanding and Tania… was just confused. Why were there ears everywhere? Why had their apartment been bugged? Who had bugged it? What the hell was Fury doing here _really_?

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash," Fury said. It was a lie. He was lying to their faces and they both knew it, but if she hadn't read his phone, it would be convincing. That scared her.

He held up his phone again.

 _SHIELD COMPROMISED_

S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised? _What?_

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked, looking more pissed than ever. Oh. So Fury _didn't_ have a wife. Wife was code for the situation at hand.

Fury grunted and stood, holding his side with one hand and his phone in the other. Rocky yelped awake and walked over to his food bowl. "Just… my friends."

Right. His _friends_. Like he had any.

She looked down at his phone again.

 _US_

God damn it, Fury. S.H.I.E.L.D. was fucking compromised and what did he expect them to do about it?

"Is that what we are?" Steve asked in a low voice as Fury approached.

"That's up to you."

"You can't have friends without trust." He glanced at Tania.

Tania fumed. "And you can't have fiancés either!" She shot back. "How-?"

 _BANGBANG!_

So many things happened at once.

Tania ducked and covered her head. She felt Steve spin her around and hide them both behind his shield. Rocky barked furiously. They heard a body hit the floor. By process of elimination, they knew who had been hit.

There were no more gunshots so Steve lowered his shield and ran to the window to see who had shot Fury _through the wall_. Ears ringing, Tania fell to her knees and crawled over to the director. No matter how much she may not like his ways or just him in general, Nick Fury didn't deserve to die. "Nick? Nick, can you hear me?"

"Come on," Steve said and the two of them dragged him into the next room, where they couldn't be seen through the window. They deposited him in the kitchen, groaning and bleeding. Rocky began licking Fury's hand. Steve tried to stand but Fury grabbed him by the wrist, coughing and spluttering. He let go and opened his palm to reveal a really big USB stick.

Tania was so confused.

"Don't…" Fury choked, "… trust… anyone."

 _Thud! Thud! Crack!_

They heard the door smash open, followed by a voice. "Captain Rogers? Agent Banks?" _Kate?_

"Tania?" _Drew?_

Steve peered around the corner with Rocky while Tania tried to stem the bleeding. She listened hard, trying to hear over her own pounding heart.

"I'm Agent 13, S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Service."

"Kate?" Steve sounded as confused as Tania did.

"I was assigned to protect you." It sounded like she was coming closer.

"On whose orders?" Steve demanded, angry again.

Kate and Drew rounded the corner. Kate was holding a gun and Drew was pale as a ghost. "His," Kate breathed, dropping to her knees on the other side of Fury.

Drew gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Rocky growled.

Kate felt Fury's pulse and then pulled a radio from out of her pants. She kept a radio in her PJs? "Foxtrot is down. He's unresponsive. I need EMTs."

The walkie-talkie crackled. _"Do we have a twenty on the shooter?"_

Steve looked out the window again. "Tell him I'm in pursuit."

Things were happening way too fast. Steve took off at a run. "Be careful!" Tania screamed after him. He disappeared.

" _Can he be moved?"_

"I don't think so," Kate replied calmly. "Two gunshot wounds to the chest and- multiple other injuries." She glanced at Tania, who shook her head. She didn't know where they came from either.

" _Stay put. EMTs are 10-17."_

"Copy that." Kate stuffed the radio back in her pants and shoved Tania's hands away from Fury's chest to apply pressure herself. "Get the first aid supplies." Her eyes flickered upward. "Then take care of her."

Tania looked at Drew, who was standing there and shaking hard enough to buckle her own knees. Tania pushed herself to her feet, staining the tile with her bloody handprint, and ran for the bathroom. She returned with the first aid kit and opened it for Kate. She handed her a roll of gauze before standing and wrapping an arm around Drew's shoulders. This was the last thing Drew needed right now.

Tania beckoned Rocky to follow and led Drew out of the apartment and into the hallway, where all of the neighbours were whispering and panicking. When Tania and Drew emerged, someone yelled, "What's going on in there?"

"Are we being attacked?"

"Is there a new super villain in town?"

"There was a sniper," Tania yelled over the commotion, squeezing Drew tighter to her. "He made a shot and now he's on the run. Cap's gone after him. We're not hurt. Go back to your rooms. The threat is gone."

It took several more minutes of reassurances before they all retreated to their respective apartments, muttering to themselves and each other about the commotion and the downsides of living in the same building as Avengers.

Tania escorted Drew downstairs to her new apartment and accepted the key from her, seeing as her hands were quivering too badly to insert it. She led her inside, Rocky at their heels, and sat down with her on the couch, never letting her arm leave Drew's shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. You're okay. The danger's gone."

"Not to him," she whispered, staring at the hardwood floor. "He's… he's dying."

Tania's heart, which had calmed down, began to beat faster again. "Yeah. He is."

Nick Fury was dying. This couldn't be real. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't _die_. But who would want to kill him? Who _could_ kill him? Had those injuries he'd been sporting been from a previous attempt? That would make the most sense.

 _Don't die on me, Nicholas_ , she thought.

"What if it's him?" Drew breathed, tensing. "What if he came for me and got that man instead? What if-?"

"Drew, Drew, hey, no. It wasn't him. Is he a sniper?"

Drew sniffled. "I- No."

"Does he think you're black and bald and wear an eye patch?"

She snorted. "No."

"It wasn't him. It was someone else doing something completely unrelated. I promised you that you would be safe here and you are. You just have to stay here, okay? Don't come out until I come back for you." She pursed her lips, but plowed on. "You can trust Kate, okay? I know it seems like she's a double agent, which is bad, but she's just undercover and even though it pisses me off, she works for… S.H.I.E.L.D…" _which is apparently compromised._ "You know what? Scratch that. Forget I said anything." _Ears everywhere._ "Here." Tania grabbed a pen and paper lying on a table across the room and returned to the couch. She scribbled on the pad and handed it to her. "Sorry about the blood."

The pad was stained red, but the writing was clearly legible.

 _186 Smythe Drive_

 _Miami, FL_

"This is where Mr. and Mrs. Stark and Mr. and Mrs. Banner live. If you go here, they will keep you safe. Take Rocky with you."

"But the money-"

"Forget about the money. Keeping you safe is a priority and I don't think Steve or I will want to come back for a while, which means that we can't protect you. Just tell Tony or J.A.R.V.I.S. or whoever answers the door that I sent you and that you used to work for S.I. They'll let you in. They'll recognize Rocky."

"My Dad works for S.H.I.E.L.D. I didn't want to come to him for this, but maybe it's best-"

"No!" _Don't… trust… anyone…_ There were only a few people she trusted implicitly: the Avengers and her brother. "Don't go to S.H.I.E.L.D. Go to Tony and Pepper, okay? Please."

Sirens blared loudly and flashes of blue and red spun in the room through the window. Tania's heart pounded in her rib cage. They were going to take Fury to the hospital.

"Find the Avengers and they'll keep you safe. I promise." Tania patted Drew's hand quickly before standing and heading for the door. "I'm so sorry about this, Drew. I'm really sorry. I have to go. I can't- I can't leave him."

Rocky tilted his head to look at her quizzically. His eyes asked her where she was going and why she was leaving him here.

"I'm sorry, boy, I have to go. Drew's gonna take good care of you, okay? Be a good boy for me."

Rocky whined, pressing both ears to his head, but he remained seated on the floor in front of Drew. He understood his orders.

"Go," said Drew, wiping her nose. "I'll be safe. Promise."

Tania nodded and slipped out the door. She ran up the stairs, her legs burning. She burst through the door to her apartment and skidded to a stop in the kitchen, where she dropped beside Kate and Fury. Fury had lost consciousness, but he was bandaged up now.

"I set his arm and tried to stop the bleeding as best I could," Kate explained without looking up from his body. She held his head in her lap. "The blood kept soaking through the gauze. And it's a double tap." Tania noticed that Kate's eyes looked red-rimmed. "The mark of an assassin."

Someone had hired an assassin to kill Nick Fury, director of a peacekeeping organization. Maybe there _was_ a new villain on the horizon. The thought made Tania's stomach churn.

The paramedics burst into the room and it was chaos. Men and women dressed in dark uniforms surrounded them, shoving Tania and Kate (Agent 13, apparently) out of the way. They loaded Fury onto a stretcher and shouted vitals to each other as they carried him all the way out of the building.

Tania and Kate followed, covered in blood and teary eyed, stomping down the stairs to meet them in the lobby. They loaded Fury into the ambulance and closed the doors before Kate could scream at them in protest that she needed to come and protect him against any more attempts to finish the job.

The paramedics refused and basically told her to shove off before climbing into the vehicle and speeding away. Huffing in frustration, Kate raked a hand through her hair and looked at Tania. There was a determination in Kate's eyes and she suddenly stood straight. "Did you see which way the shooter went?"

"No. I-"

 _Bzzzt!_ Tania's phone buzzed and she gingerly pulled it out, trying not to stain it with Fury's blood. Oh God, _Fury's blood_. Blinking furiously, she swiped the screen to read the text from Steve.

 _Lost the shooter. Which hospital?_

"Where are they taking him?" Tania asked.

"Sibley Memorial."

She relayed this information to Steve, who wrote back: _Meet you there._

"Steve lost the shooter," she said, slipping her phone back into her purse, which had been dangling over her shoulder the whole time. It felt like forever ago since she'd put it on this afternoon to go out to lunch. "He'll meet us at the hospital."

"I can't," Kate croaked, scratching her throat. "If I'm not protecting him, I have to stay and wait for a team to investigate the crime scene – make sure no one tampers with it, you know?"

Tania nodded. "Alright." Could Kate be trusted? Was she a double-double agent? "Well… Bye."

"Bye."

Tania wasn't really sure how to feel about Kate right now. Kate probably wasn't even her real name. She had re-introduced herself as Agent 13, which wasn't helpful whatsoever. Well, not unless Tania checked the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, but seeing as the organization was apparently _compromised_ , that might not be the best idea.

Mind buzzing with questions and replaying the past few minutes over and over again, Tania jogged to the parking lot where her car was and got in. She shifted into reverse and peeled out, tires squealing.

 _Hang on, Nick. Just hang on._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N. Update number five! Hooray! I noticed that a lot of my chapters are pretty short. Would you guys prefer more chapters that are short or fewer chapters that are long?**

 **I hope you enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own Captain America: The Winter Soldier**

 **Chapter Five**

"J.A.R.V.I.S." Tania barked, swerving in-between traffic. "Call Natasha."

"Calling now," the A.I. responded. He connected Tania's phone to the car via Bluetooth and dialed Natasha's number.

It rang once. _"Romanoff."_

"Natasha, something's happened."

 _"What is it?"_ Nat was all business.

"Fury showed up at our apartment and told us that…" Natasha was part of S.H.I.E.L.D… but she was also an Avenger. Tania mentally chastised herself for ever doubting. But Fury had specifically asked them not to trust anyone. If he wanted Natasha to know, she would know already. Unless he'd planned on telling her afterward and couldn't because… because… "Fury's dying," Tania croaked, sniffling. "There was a sniper, an assassin, outside our window and he shot Fury through the wall. He's on the way to the hospital."

There was a pause during which Tania ran a red light. _"Which one?"_

"I'm turning onto your street now. Are you home?"

 _"I'll meet you outside."_

Tania stopped just in front of Natasha and Clint's suburban house just as the Black Widow herself came barreling down the porch steps wearing what looked like the first thing she could get her hands on. She rolled across the hood of the car and yanked the passenger door open, slamming it behind her as she got in. "Drive."

Shoving her foot on the gas pedal, Tania launched the two of them back into nightlife traffic. "They're taking him to Simbley Memorial. Steve went after the shooter, but he got away. He's gonna meet us there."

"Did Sharon at least get a good shot at him?"

"Who?"

"Your neighbour. The nurse."

Tania gaped at her. "You knew?"

Natasha glanced at her before returning her eyes to the road, her head in one hand. "I was the one who recommended her for the job."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't take well to the idea. You can protect yourself and all that. But Fury and I agreed that it was a good idea to have some back-up in case that didn't work out."

"So you decided to keep it a secret?"

"No fuss, no muss."

"Natasha," Tania said seriously. "Secrets don't make friends."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I already have them."

"Secrets don't keep them, either." Not that Nat had a lot of experience with friendship. Tania couldn't really blame her, but secrets were just a really touchy subject at the moment.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?"

"He wanted to tell us something. He broke into the apartment and was waiting for us when we got there. He was all banged up, like he'd joined the fight club or something. His collarbone was broken and he was bleeding all over the furniture. He told us that there were ears everywhere."

"What else?"

"He said that…" _Don't… trust… anyone…_ "He said that he didn't have anywhere else to crash. Said he had a wife." Maybe if Natasha understood the reference, it could prove how trustworthy she was.

She didn't look away from the window.

"He didn't get to say anything more before the shooter got to him. Two to the chest from the back – _through the wall_. Kate radioed someone and they sent EMTs straight away."

"Kate?"  
"Agent 13 or whatever her name was."

"She was there, you know. When Loki came back."

"What?"

"When Hammer released all those robots, she was one of the agents dispatched to deal with them. She saved a lot of civilians that day."

"Hm."

"She's really good friends with Stevenson."

"What about you?"

"We get along. Sharon's a good person."

"How can you tell?"

Her lips twitched. "I just can."

They pulled up to the hospital and suddenly the calm conversation gave way to panicked running throughout a building to find Fury. They finally found him and threw the door open, bursting into the waiting room.

Steve was there, staring through the window at Fury on the operating table. Several doctors swarmed him, moving in a rush and calling things out to each other. The lights were so bright that Tania almost had to squint to see what was going on. Also in the waiting room was Agent Maria Hill.

Natasha ran straight for the window and stared unblinkingly at her boss. Tania walked slowly between her and Steve, watching with a heavy heart. No one reacted to their entrance.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha whispered to the window.

"I don't know," Steve replied softly.

There was a pause. The silence was stifling and Tania felt like she might crumble beneath its weight. Fury might not make it. He might _die_. Of all the people Tania could never believe would die, Fury was near the top of that list. _Please don't leave us. The world needs men like you._ He wanted to protect the people. At the heart of it all, that was what Fury was always trying to do, even if sometimes it didn't seem like it.

They stood there for hours, waiting.

"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha ordered quietly.

"He's fast," Steve answered obediently, his tone somber. "Strong." He hesitated. "He had a metal arm."

Another pause. She mumbled her next words. Tania didn't catch them.

Hill did. "Three slugs, no rifle, and completely untraceable."

"Soviet made," Natasha whispered. It wasn't a question.

Hill and Tania both turned to look at her. "Yeah," Hill breathed in surprise.

"How did-?" Tania started to say.

A quiet, rapid beeping penetrated the silence and everyone turned to watch. Fury's heart monitor was going crazy. Doctors were moving twice as fast as before. Someone brought in a defibrillator.

"Oh my God," Tania muttered, instinctively grabbing Steve's arm. She couldn't tear her eyes away. Everything faded until it was just Fury, lying on that table, heart no longer beating.

They shocked him. She watched as his chest jerked and then fell, lifeless.

They waited.

Nothing.

Tears sprang to her eyes. _Come on, Fury. Please._ She didn't want anyone to die, let alone be _murdered_.

They shocked him again.

They waited.

Nothing.

The doctor with the glasses felt Fury's neck for a pulse, desperate to believe that the monitor, with all of its straight lines, was wrong. Tania's own heart was racing. _Please be wrong. Please be wrong. Please be wrong._

They waited.

All of the movement in the operating room stopped. The doctors weren't flurrying about. No one was yelling anything. The monitor wasn't beeping.

Everything was still.

The doctor with the glasses shook his head.

Nothing.

Tania sobbed and buried her face into Steve's arm. He turned and enveloped her in a tight hug, burying his own face in her hair so that neither of them had to see. She sniffled into his jacket and squeezed him, needing to know that there were still people here. That _he_ , Steve, was still here.

Nicholas J. Fury was dead. She'd watched him get shot. She'd watched him die. He would no longer make them angry or send them on missions or piss Tony off or get pissed at Tony. He would no longer tolerate eye patch jokes or command that the Avengers get their shit together.

He was gone.

Tania's experience with death was … limited, perhaps; no matter how severely that limited amount had affected her. Aunt Gemma had passed away while she and Graham had been at college and they'd returned for a closed casket funeral.

During the invasion, there had been death all around her. Aliens attacking, destroying, slaughtering. It had been easier to focus on just staying alive and keeping others safe.

The villain Neil had died trying to escape the Avengers' wrath by ejecting himself from an Iron Man suit while flying. She had never seen him do it and could easily pretend that he'd just disappeared. He'd been easily forgotten.

Peggy's death had hit her and Steve pretty hard. Her funeral had given them closure, though. They'd been able to move on.

Schmidt… was a whole other story that she didn't want to think about right now. It was a death that she was still coming to terms with because she was the one that caused it.

But this was different. This was watching someone she knew be murdered before her very eyes and being powerless to stop his life from draining away. How could it be that humans had immeasurable power to kill each other, but only limited power to saving each other. Everyone knew how to kill, but only a few knew how to save.

This world was twisted and grey and _unfair_. How could it kill Nick Fury, the man who just wanted to protect people from what they didn't know how to fight? How could it give them hope that he could live only to squash their hearts by letting him die?

Director Nick Fury was never coming back. The world would spin on and the people would move forward. Death had stopped him, but it hadn't stopped them.

 _Good-bye, Nick._

The doctors finished with their business and eventually moved the body to another room to allow them to say good-bye. Hill went in first, asking for privacy as she did so. While they waited, Tania, Steve, and Natasha drew comfort from each other by standing within close proximity.

Nick Fury had been their boss. He'd been the one to bring the original Avengers together. He'd been the one to look after them when they'd been searching for Tania and Steve. He'd been the one who'd let Natasha in to S.H.I.E.L.D. and allowed Clint to train her and be her partner. He had had an influence on all of their lives. They didn't know where they'd be today without him.

Hill came out, wiping her face. Tania had never seen her so… not put together. "You guys can go in."

The three of them, on an unspoken agreement, entered the room. Fury's corpse lay on a cot of some sort, beneath a white blanket. All of his injuries were still clearly visible. Someone had done this to him.

That someone was going to pay.

Steve just shook his head and stayed back. Tania stayed with him, resting her head on his shoulder, both of her arms wrapped around one of his. Fury wasn't on this Earth anymore. That body was just the shell he'd left behind.

Natasha looked at them and nodded. She walked forward so that her back was to them and stood in front of Fury's corpse. She stared at it for Tania didn't know how long. Steve and Tania waited politely by the door. She was still sniffing and trying not to get snot all over Steve's shirt.

Natasha continued to stand there like a statue, dealing with her grief in her own way. Tania wished she knew how to help her, but she didn't. Maybe being alone was what Natasha needed right now.

Sometime later, Hill entered the room again, her eyes dry, but red. "They need to take him," she whispered to her and Steve.

Tania looked up at her fiancé, who nodded at her. She slid out of reach and walked forward to talk to Natasha. She rested a hand on the agent's shoulder. "Nat," she whispered, "time to go."

For several more seconds, Natasha didn't move. Then she placed a hand on Fury's forehead for a moment, turned, and stalked away. Tania and Steve made eye contact and followed after her, leaving Hill behind.

Tania called her name and Natasha whirled around, suddenly angry. "Why was Fury _really_ in your apartment?" She demanded.

Tania glanced at Steve, who glanced back. _Should we tell?_

 _Fury's last words…_

 _I know…_

Before either of them could say anything, someone called out, "Cap!" The three of them turned. An agent Tania didn't recognize stood there in full gear. Had he come to mourn Fury too? "They want you and Banks back at S.H.I.E.L.D."

Another shared look. "Give us a second," Steve said and turned back to face an emotional Natasha.

"They want you _now_ ," said the agent firmly. Oh. So he and the other agents down the hall weren't here to mourn Fury. They were here to escort them to the Triskelion. A whole strike team just to bring them to HQ. Who the hell at S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted them right this very second?

"Okay," Steve acquiesced. Finally, the agent turned and walked away. "We don't know," he told Natasha.

She scoffed in a way that was almost a laugh. "You're a terrible liar." She turned and continued stalking away. Tania wanted to go after her, but she was needed at HQ. The one that was apparently _compromised_.

"Wait!" She yelled after Natasha. Nat turned and Tania tossed her the car keys. "Take it back to your place. I'll come pick it up later."

Natasha's face was blank as she nodded stonily and left.

Tania looked at Steve. He was staring at the vending machine like he just had an epiphany. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the USB. Fury had died to give them that. They couldn't look at it now!

"Cover me," he whispered and approached the handyman currently loading the machine. Tania was hesitant, but she stood between him and the agents down the hall and started a conversation with a passing nurse, providing what she hoped was enough cover.

Steve was right. If S.H.I.E.L.D. really was compromised, bringing the USB directly to its base would be a bad idea. They could come back for it later.

When Steve stood, she said good-bye to the nice nurse and followed him down the hall. Whatever problems the two of them were having, they could wait. "Let's go," she told the agent who'd called them.

"Strike team," yelled the man to the other agents, "move out."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N. Hello again! Here's chapter six. With how fast things are moving along, this story may end up being shorter than the other ones. Hmm... I guess we'll see. Enjoy :D**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own a lot of things. Captain America and the Marvel characters, locations, dialogue, etc are some of those things.**

 **Chapter Six**

When they emerged, Tania was surprised to find that it was daylight outside. They had spent the entire night at the hospital. She checked her phone. It was just past six in the morning.

The agent (Steve whispered to her that his name was Brock Rumlow) escorted them to a sleek black Lexus and offered to drive them to the Triskelion, but they declined in favour of taking Steve's bike. Neither of them spoke the entire way. Tania was getting accustomed to the silence. She felt as though it had succeeded in suffocating her and now it was just always there.

When they arrived at HQ, they changed into their work clothes because the outfits they were wearing were bloody and rumpled. Steve wore his navy stealth suit (which looked really hot on him and she had told him so on several occasions) while she wore her catsuit. They both had their weapons strapped to their backs. She usually kept her staff baton-sized and hung over her shoulder like a quiver.

Rumlow told them to visit one of the highest floors; the one reserved for Secretary Alexander Pierce, head of the World Security Council. This guy was even higher up than Fury had been. Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about him. Pierce was former Secretary of Defense and a close personal friend of Nick Fury.

Tania couldn't help but think that this wouldn't end well.

They entered the elevator in more silence. "They should play music or something," she commented.

Steve laughed. She missed his laugh. They really needed to talk about what happened before Fury broke into their apartment. They hadn't really spoken to each other much beyond necessities since the incident and she was dying to talk to him. She needed to apologize for keeping something from him, especially since it was partly done out of spite.

The elevator ride was long and quiet, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. Steve stared solemnly out the window and she didn't want to disturb the peace. She was afraid that if she started something now, it would ruin the unspoken truce they had. But maybe that would be better than the uneasy feeling of being on the edge of something… dangerous.

She twisted her engagement ring around her finger.

After what felt like hours later, the doors opened and they spotted Pierce himself talking to a blonde woman-

Kate. Or, wait, no, Sharon. Agent Sharon. Agent 13. Or whatever.

Sharon stiffened when she saw them and made to walk past them. "Captain Rogers. Agent Banks."

"Neighbour," Steve returned coldly.

Sharon's heels paused in their clacking, but Tania didn't turn to look.

"Ah, Captain," said the man in the doorway. He was old and wrinkled, but his hair was blonde. He wore big, black glasses and a grey, three-piece suit, pressed to perfection. He held a steaming mug of coffee in his hands. What Tania wouldn't do for a mug right now, she thought as she smelled the drink and wished fervently for its caffeine to be in her system. Pierce held out his hand for Steve to shake. "I'm Alexander Pierce." He nodded at Tania with a smile that was not quite warm. "Agent." He shook her hand as well. The movement was firm and almost clipped. Maybe even a bit threatening.

"Sir," Steve greeted cordially. "It's an honour."

"The honour's mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come in."

They both made to enter.

"Oh, actually I was hoping to speak to the both of you alone. One each." He smiled again, shifting his glasses with his cheeks.

Tania stepped back, suspicious of… something. "Alright. I'll be out here then."

"Would you like me to pull out a chair from my office?" He offered.

"No, that's okay. Thank you, though."

Pierce nodded and waited for Steve to enter the room before closing the door. What to do for the next several minutes? Tania spun on her heel and ran down the hallway toward the staircase, where she heard Sharon's shoes still clacking.

"Sharon!" She called, her voice echoing in the staircase.

The clacking stopped. "Yes?"

"I'd like to speak with you."

The clacking started again and Sharon came into view around the bend. Her face was expressionless. "What about?"

"Did you approve of your mission?"

"I'm sorry?"

"To go undercover as our neighbour. Did you approve of it?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I'm asking you if you thought it was a good idea."

"It's always a good idea to live near back-up."

"But you lied to us and created this whole persona of Kate when you could've just been yourself. Why pretend like you were a civilian? I don't understand."

"Fury thought you would prefer a more civilian setting."

"Yeah, well apparently our apartment's been bugged, so…"

Sharon looked away awkwardly.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. had it bugged, didn't they?"

She nodded.

"Why do they have to keep such close tabs on us? What makes us so special?"

"You're arguably S.H.I.E.L.D.'s greatest assets. Fury wanted to keep you safe."

"But why all the lies?"

"He didn't want to take the chance that you'd disagree with his ideas."

"And if we did?"

"He'd have found some other way."

"And do you think this was a good idea? The lying? Was it necessary?"

For a long moment, Sharon didn't say anything. They stood there in the staircase, staring each other down from above and below. Eventually, Sharon broke the silence. "No. I don't think it was necessary."

Tania's features softened. This didn't mean that she trusted Sharon, but she liked her a little more. It was all that she'd wanted to hear. "Thank you, Agent 13."

She nodded curtly. "See you around."

"See you."

Sharon continued down the stairs and Tania made her way back up. She paced the hallway as she waited. Maybe she could take a nap? Sleeping on the floor outside the office of the former Secretary of Defense was probably a bad idea. She checked her phone. There was a missed call from Tony. She dialed her voicemail and waited.

" _Can you believe that guy?"_ The message started. _"J.A.R.V.I.S. just told me that Fury booked me for a birthday party next week. He somehow managed to slip it into my schedule without my noticing. J.A.R.V.I.S. must be plotting against me. Anyway, you tell him that I'm not going to any kid's birthday party – especially if they're related to him. I'd tell him myself, but I feel like if I tried to talk to him, the only words that would come out would be expletives. Thanks, Piggy Bank. You're the best." Beep._

Oh, Tony. He didn't know. No one did. Not yet. The news wasn't public yet. "I wish I could tell him, Tony," she whispered. "I really do."

Did this have anything to do with what was going on? It seemed totally random to send Tony to a birthday party. Maybe it was a mission that he wanted Iron Man to go on? Maybe it was an encrypted message?

She sent Tony a text to look into going to the party and slipped her phone back in her pocket. It wasn't long after that before the door opened and Steve stepped out, followed by Pierce. Steve walked up to her while Pierce retreated into his office. "I'll wait for you," Steve declared. "But if you take longer than five minutes, I'm leaving. I want to talk to Director Hill." While Fury was gone, Hill had temporarily taken his place as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. until a new order could be established.

Tania couldn't tell if Steve was teasing. It _sounded_ like he was teasing… but he didn't look to be in the mood for such a thing. Maybe he was still mad at her. "Alright." She entered the office and closed the door behind her. It felt more final than it should.

"Beautiful day, isn't it, Agent?" Pierce asked casually, making his way over to the coffee machine on the counter.

"Yes, Sir."

"Coffee?"

"Please."

He poured her a mug and brought it over to the couch, where he sat down and placed the drink on the coffee table. "I want to tell you a story." Alright-y then. "Take a look at these pictures." He gestured to the ones lying strewn on the table.

Gingerly, Tania sat down on the opposite end of the couch and picked up the photos. They were of Pierce and Fury in their younger days, discussing something very enthusiastically.

"That was five years after Nick and I met. We were both stationed in Bogota, Columbia. ELN rebels took the embassy. Security managed to get me and Nick out of there, but the rebels took hostages. One of them was my daughter. You can imagine my state of mind at the time."

She could. She imagined that it would be very chaotic. If someone had taken Graham hostage… She shuddered at the thought.

"Nick comes to me with this crazy idea: storm the building through the sewers. I tell him, 'Nick, that's crazy. We have to negotiate.' But the rebels didn't want to negotiate so they threatened to start killing. Turns out that Nick got to the hostages first. He had gone against my orders and conducted an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. Saved a lot of lives."

"Including your daughter's."

Pierce nodded. "Including hers. So I gave him a promotion. Since then, I have never regretted it." He shifted on the couch. Tania could tell that things just got extra serious. "Agent, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

So this was an interrogation. If he was asking her, then that meant that Steve hadn't told him. If Steve hadn't told Natasha, one of their most trusted friends, Tania doubted that Steve would tell Pierce. "No idea," she answered, shaking her head.

"Did you know it was bugged?"

"He told us that before he… passed."

"Did he tell you that he was the one who bugged it?"

"No. Agent 13 told me."

Pierce hummed. "You, Captain Rogers, and Agent 13 were the last ones to see Nick alive. I don't think that was an accident. Do you?"

Tania fidgeted. "I think we were the only place close enough that seemed safe. I mean, we're Avengers. If you can't trust us, who _can_ you trust?" Lighter mood, anyone? No? Fine.

Pierce stared at her very seriously, fiddling with his glasses in his hands. She hadn't noticed him take them off. "Why was Nick in your apartment?" He asked again, staring her down with unnerving blue eyes.

Tania swallowed. "I really don't know. I'm sorry."

It was evident that Pierce didn't believe her. She wouldn't believe herself either. She would have to ask Natasha to help improve her lying skills. "Is that your final answer?"

She could feel every beat of her pounding heart as if she could reach into her chest and grab it. Her skin felt paper thin and her ribs vibrated with every _thump_. "Yes." If Steve didn't trust Pierce, then neither did she. "May I go? Please?"

Pierce gestured towards the door. Tania got up to leave. She was almost there when she heard his voice. "You'll regret lying to me, Agent Banks."

A shiver jumped up her spin, but she didn't turn around. "Understood." She needed to find Steve. She needed to get to that USB. She needed to figure out what the fucking hell was going on before Pierce made good on his promise.

She speed-walked out of Pierce's office and into the hallway only to see the elevator doors close. Damn. Had it been five minutes? Paranoid, she shuffled toward the staircase and began descending. It was a _long_ flight of stairs to her department, but the elevator wasn't going to come back any time soon.

She made it maybe six flights when the door above her burst open and a group of rambunctious, young, male agents in full gear entered the staircase, yelling and laughing to each other. If she didn't know any better, she'd think they were drunk. _Darn interns_ , she thought as she continued on her way, the interns following her down.

Another two flights later, the doors opened a floor below her and two more agents flooded the staircase. Tania did a quick headcount. Three above, two below. The laughter ceased. The two below her stared. One of their hands twitched. Behind her, she heard a _click_.

Pierce worked fast.

Tania grabbed the railing and launched herself over it onto the set of stairs across the room so that she would be in front of both sets of agents. She landed awkwardly on the balls of her feet with each foot on a different step. Immediately, the agents converged behind her and gave chase. She ran for the closest door and yanked it open, but the agents were fast and the closest one threw himself into the door, slamming it shut.

She spun away from the wall and tried to run down the stairs again, but the closest one grabbed her wrist and pulled. She stumbled backward, but caught her footing and dropped to a crouch with all of her weight pulling on his hand. She kicked his knee and heard the bone snap as it bent backward. He screamed and she flipped him over her head. He was sent tumbling down the stairs.

Two more threw themselves at her. One wrapped his arms around her from behind in a bear hug while the other tackled her legs. She couldn't move. She squirmed and wriggled, but the guy holding her legs swung them upward so that they were both carrying her. She opened her mouth to scream, but a fourth shoved a gag between her teeth and she struggled harder, twisting and turning.

The fourth agent produced an electric rod. Tania's heart was racing. She couldn't let herself be captured like this. She couldn't let Pierce kill her. She used her wrists and palms to feel the torso of the agent behind her and grabbed his belt. She tugged and he jerked forward. She pressed both feet against the torso of the agent holding her legs and pushed as hard as she could.

The man behind her hit the wall and loosened his grip. She broke her arms free and her torso fell. She caught herself in a sort of handstand with her legs still caught by the one agent. She shoved her feet into the agent holding her feet and knocked him into the railing. While he was stunned, she kicked her legs free and swung them into the other agent's face. The kick was enough knock him out.

She then kicked her feet up and swung her torso upward, landing in a crouch. She bent backward into a bridge and pressed her hands into the floor again as she kicked her legs upward. Her right foot caught a third agent in the jaw, which she heard _crack_! Her legs swung over her head and landed on the higher platform of the stairs so that she landed in a position that reminded her of Spider-Man.

She lunged from the platform and wrapped her arms around one agent's neck, swinging her legs around to trap another one's head between her ankles. This was a very new move that Natasha had only taught her last week, but she was pretty sure that she could pull it off. She hoped. Tania rolled towards the floor and brought them both down with her. She smashed both of their heads into the tile, knocking them out. During the fall, her elbow and knee bashed the floor, which was going to bruise later.

Well, she _mostly_ pulled it off.

Skin stinging, she pushed herself to her feet. The last one took out his own electric rod. She was fairly sure that those things were used for torture. One hit from one of those and she'd be done for. She reached behind her and pulled out her baton. She pressed a button and it popped open to its full length.

The blonde agent brought down his weapon and she kicked his wrist away. She shoved the blunt side of her staff into his face and broke his nose. He stumbled backward and she followed, swinging her staff. He ducked and threw his boot into her stomach. She gasped and bent forward. She heard electricity crackle and raised her staff in time to block the rod from coming down on her head. As they battled for dominance, she found herself grateful that her staff didn't conduct electricity (somehow).

She pressed her foot to his knee and used it as a stepping stone to bring her other leg up. Now devoid of leverage to push any harder, she yanked her staff back and flung her head back. Her foot slammed into his jaw and she flipped backward, landing on the platform while he stumbled down the stairs, somehow managing to keep his footing.

Blood dribbled down his face, most prominently from his nose, and he looked _pissed_. Tania unclicked her staff into two batons and twirled them, ready for a fight. She was on the higher platform, so she decided to jump. She swung her batons down to divert the electric rod and rammed her shoulder into his jugular. They both slammed into the wall, but he got his bearings faster than her.

He grabbed both of her wrists and sunk his knee into her gut. She gasped and her knees wobbled. She dropped all of her weight and he fumbled with his grip and the newly acquired weight distribution and she twisted out of his grip, spinning out of reach and bouncing back to her feet behind him.

She shoved her boot against his spine and he tumbled down the stairs, somehow landing on his feet. She jumped off the higher platform again, this time aiming a kick for his head, but he grabbed her leg and used her momentum to throw her into the wall. Her bones rattled and she fell the floor, sufficiently bruised and disoriented. The colours faded just in time to watch the rod come down towards her stomach. Her batons shot up and she blocked it just in time. Her batons crossed with his rod in a series perpendicular lines. He pushed down and she struggled upward, groaning and grunting. He added another hand and the rod descended two inches closer. It could almost catch her scarf.

She brought her knee up and threw it into the agent's elbow. It bent accordingly and she shoved the rod into _his_ chest. He spasmed for several seconds before he convulsed and fell unconscious on top of her. She yanked the rod from his grasp, panting.

She couldn't afford wait for more of them to arrive. She pushed herself to her feet, blood rushing to all of her limbs and time moving twice as fast as usual. After shoving her staff back into its holster, she raced down all of the stairs, not thinking about how many flights there were until she burst into the lobby, her calves burning. Adrenaline still pumping through her veins, she sprinted for the exit-

 _CRASH!_

She threw her arms over her head as the glass ceiling shattered.

 _BOOM!_

Something heavy landed a few meters away and she threw herself in the opposite direction, rolling out of the way of any more glass. When she looked up, she saw that the something heavy was a person.

 _"Steve!"_ She yelled, horrified. She ran to him and slid to her knees to help him up, cutting her legs on the glass. He groaned and pushed himself up. What happened to her must have happened to him.

"Tania," he grunted, "we have to run."

"I know. Come on." She tugged on his arm and together, they ran for the doors that led to the garage, where they could get to Steve's bike and get out of here. Steve was ten times faster than her, so he held on to her wrist tightly and refused to let go. It was like they were fused together and she was just fine with that. They sprinted to the garage attached to the main building and practically tackled Steve's bike in their crazy attempts to escape their workplace-turned-madhouse.

Steve revved the engine and they sped toward the wide open doors which were quickly closing from above and below. They looked like giant teeth getting ready to chew them up and spit them out. Tania squeezed Steve as tightly as she could and prayed while he pushed them faster. He pushed down and then up and then they were flying. The doors slammed shut behind them and they landed somewhat safely on the road outside.

Tania was not at all sure that she wasn't hyperventilating.

A quinjet zoomed above them and turned to face them, blocking their way. It activated its guns. This was crazy. S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to _kill them_!

"Stand down, Agents! Stand down! Repeat, stand down!"

 _Shitshitshit-!_

"When I tell you to jump, do it!" Steve shouted at her.

"What?!"

"JUMP!"

She let go of him and shoved off of the bike with her feet. She soared and swung her knees up over her head in a backflip before slamming her feet into the ground. They slid against the gravel, the soles of her shoes seemingly smoking. She looked up just as the quinjet began firing at Steve, who sped up even more. She watched as Steve swerved to avoid the bullets and vaulted his shield straight into one of the jet's turbines. He then applied the brakes and the bike flipped forward. Steve went with the momentum and leaped forward onto the jet's window, continuing the motion in a handspring.

Tania stopped paying attention and ran for the bike. It skid across the ground and screeched as it did so, coming to a halt just beneath the hovering jet. Tania knelt beside it and waved away the smoke as best she could. It was too heavy to lift over the spikes. Well. Too heavy for her. The spikes were too wide to jump over and the switch to deactivate them was on the other side. Where was Clint when you needed him?

Mind racing, she reached down and ripped off one of Steve's mirrors. "Sorry, Dear," she mumbled. He really loved that bike. She'd get him a new one for Christmas. Well, she'd ask Tony to get him a new one for Christmas. She hurled the mirror at the button. _Bullseye!_ The spikes retracted. _Thank you, Clint, for all your target practice!_

She turned just in time to see Steve land next to the motorcycle, the jet crashing behind him. "Impressive," she panted.

"Yeah," he grunted back, not really listening. He knelt by the bike, inspecting it. "Damn it," he breathed, standing up. "Come on. Let's get to the hospital."

"Are we going to run there?" She asked, half-joking.

He scooped her up into his arms. She wanted to protest, but it would probably be faster this way. "Yup. I guess you _can_ run everywhere."

They took off down the street.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own Captain America: The Winter Soldier or any of its dialogue, characters, settings, etc.**

 **Chapter Seven**

Steve set her down at the back doors of a recreational center. It was one she'd frequented for a bit before deciding that she burnt enough calories during her training with Natasha and her occasional mission. She hadn't been here in several weeks.

"What are we doing here?" She asked in a hushed and frantic whisper. The two of them huddled together, pressed against the brick wall of the building. They were both bruised and bleeding, but there was no pressing injury or need for immediate medical attention.

"We can't be seen like this," he explained, scanning the area. Not only were they beat up, but they were also wearing their superhero costumes. "Anyone catches sight of us, word will spread quickly-"

"And S.H.I.E.L.D. will find out."

"And then find us."

"Okay. I guess we can't go home because it's bugged."

"Right."

"So we steal someone's clothes from the change rooms and ditch ours here?"

Steve nodded.

It was too bad. She really liked her outfit. Steve had told her that it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. But if S.H.I.E.L.D. was really compromised, then she didn't want to be associated with them and with the logos on her shoulders, it would be hard not to. Her Sonata costume shouldn't be associated with an organization anyway. Unless you counted the Avengers as an organization. She could design a whole new outfit-

She was getting ahead of herself.

"We'll meet back here in five," Steve said.

She agreed and they sneaked inside, leaving the shield under a bush. They needed to avoid security cameras and being seen by bystanders, which was hard. Mornings were always busy at the gym. Steve grabbed two towels from the laundry bin by the front desk (ew) and tossed one to Tania. They tried in vain to cover their costumes as they slipped past the receptionist and slid into the change rooms with relative ease.

Tania managed to make her way to the very back of the women's change room without notice and quickly stripped down. She opened as many lockers without locks as she could, making sure to be as silent as possible. Finally she found one that contained someone's bag. It was rather large; large enough to fit Steve's shield. Perfect.

She raided the bag and slipped on the person's clothes. This woman had a certain sense of style that Tania liked, which only made her feel worse about stealing her clothes. She rummaged through the bag and found the woman's wallet.

 _Candace Martinelli_

Tania would find a way to pay this woman back for stealing her clothes. She pulled out everything from the woman's bag and stuffed it back in the locker. It would be weird if she walked around without a bag. That was something that people just didn't do; especially if her outfit had no pockets (which it didn't). She'd always found it annoying how so many articles of women's clothing had no pockets, forcing her to wear a purse.

She dumped her uniform in the trash and dropped the towel over top of it. She then pulled her hair down from its ponytail and ruffled it as she walked out of the room as casually as she could. She wore a bright orange and white polka-dot skirt and a deep blue halter top paired with sunglasses and a pair of white flats. The shoes weren't ideal for running, but they were ideal for blending in.

She spotted a cigarette pack on a bench and swiped it. She was going for a "smoke break". That would look casual, right? She strolled out of the back doors, fumbling with the box as if to take one out. Steve was already there, dressed in pants and a hoodie, which he wore over his head as if he could hide from the world. He looked like someone trying to hide. She didn't say as much. They needed to get that USB ASAP.

He looked down at the pack in her hands. "You stressed?" He teased.

She snorted and tossed him the box. "Duh. But smoking's not my thing. Tried it once. Hated it."

Steve threw the box into the trash and slipped his shield into Tania's new bag. He swung his arm around her shoulders and steered them around the building. They walked like a couple down the street and even though they were wearing other people's clothes, Tania hadn't felt more like his girlfriend in several days.

She missed this. She missed him. She didn't want to fight anymore. She wanted to confide in him and tell him her fears and her woes, but she wouldn't burden him if he wouldn't do the same.

They took a cab to the hospital. Luckily, Steve still had some cash on him from going to the bank the night before. Tania did all of the talking, as Steve's face wasn't covered. They didn't want to risk recognition.

When they arrived, they held hands. Tania didn't know if it was to blend in anymore. Was it natural? Was it really Steve and not the disguise that he was wearing? She wanted to stop and talk this out more than anything, but now was not the time.

When _would_ it be the time?

They bypassed the front desk by saying that they were here to visit a friend. They rattled off a room number by the room they'd said good-bye to Fury in and made their way over. They stopped at the vending machine.

Steve stared. He made no move to get the USB. He stared some more.

She nudged him gently with her elbow. "Steve," she whispered, "What is it?"

"It's not there," he breathed.

"What?!"

 _Pop!_

Tania turned. There stood Natasha, chewing gum rather obnoxiously. What was she doing here? Why did she look so smug? Why did Steve look so pissed? "Looking for something?" Natasha asked.

Oh. "You never left the hospital, did you?" Tania asked quietly.

Nat shook her head.

Steve nodded at the door behind her, his jaw set. "Get in." His tone made it clear that there was to be no argument.

Natasha shrugged coolly and turned to enter the empty waiting room. Steve and Tania followed. Tania shut the door and leaned against it, waiting and watching. It went unspoken that she would be the lookout in case someone wanted to come in. She made sure to keep her ears tuned to the low conversation between her fiancé and one of her best friends as she peered out the window.

"Where is it?" Steve demanded. Tania felt that he had every right to be angry, but it felt wrong to be so accusing toward _Natasha_. She was just as much family as was any of the other Avengers.

"Safe," was Natasha's curt response. Cryptic, much?

"Do better." Wow, Steve was _really_ pissed. She had never seen him so rude to a woman before. Come to think of it, she had never seen him so rude to _anyone_ before (excluding villains), let alone one of his closest friends.

"Where did you get it?" Natasha seemed equally ticked off.

"I can't tell you."

Realization dawned on her face. "Fury gave it to you. Why?"

"What's on it?"

"I don't know."

"Stop lying!"

"You're one to talk," Tania remarked bitterly. Shit. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Not now!" Steve barked at her.

She glared at him. _Later_.

"You know I only act like I know everything, right?" Natasha asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and cocking her hip.

There was a noise just outside the door and Tania grabbed the handle to make sure that no one came in. No one did and the footsteps died away.

Steve turned his attention back to Natasha. "I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?"

What? What pirates? What was Steve talking about? Natasha seemed to know (at least partly). She seemed genuinely surprised by the news. "Well… it makes sense. The ship was dirty. Fury needed a way in. So do you."

Steve glared. "I'm not going to ask you again," he said harshly.

Natasha stared at him for a few seconds. It looked like she was searching for something. Tania wondered what it was and if she found it. "I know who killed Fury."

Tania's mouth fell open. Of all the things to say right now, that had been one that was completely unexpected. "Who?" She breathed, the word barely a whisper that blew past her lips.

Natasha shifted her stance. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last _fifty… years_."

Twenty-four kills in fifty years. Fifty years? That would make the youngest assassin sixty-eight at their last known kill if they started at eighteen. What assassin lived that long?

"So he's a ghost story," Steve paraphrased, obviously doubtful of her statement.

Natasha could see that they didn't believe her. "Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Somebody shot out my tires near Odesa. We lost control; went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out. The Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer so he shot him straight through me." She lifted up her shirt to show them a nasty scar on stomach. It was one of many that they'd seen on their trips to the beach and various swimwear appropriate locations. "Soviet slug. No rifling." Just like Fury. "Going after him is a dead end. I know. I've tried." She pulled the USB from her pocket and held it up. "Like you said, he's a ghost story." She held it out to Steve. She trusted them. So why hadn't they trusted her?

Tania felt guilty. Why hadn't they just told Natasha the truth from the beginning? Why couldn't they have been honest? Why was everybody lying to each other? If S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, the Avengers should be sticking together, not fighting amongst one another.

Steve took the USB. "So let's find out what the ghost wants."

"Well," Natasha said with a smirk, looking Steve up and down. "First we're going to have to get you a better disguise than that."

* * *

They ended up going to the mall and using up the rest of Steve's cash to buy him and Natasha new outfits. Steve now had on glasses and a baseball cap that said "War Veteran", which Tania and Nat both found hilarious. They threw some hipster shoes on his feet and a sweater and voila. Steve undercover.

"First rule of going on the run is don't run, walk," Natasha told them without making eye contact as they strolled through the mall.

"If I run in these shoes, they're going to fall off," Steve grumbled. Needless to say, he wasn't a fan of the hipster look.

Tania bit her lip to keep from laughing. She couldn't help but remember that Clark Kent comment she'd made during their time travelling stint. She quickly forced herself to sober up. "So where-to now?"

"The Apple Store. Every mall has three functions: disguises, free computers, and crowds. We're going to see what's on the USB over at Apple so that when S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks us, we can lose them easily." Well, Natasha _was_ the superspy here.

"That makes sense."

Tania and Steve avoided contact this time to prevent Natasha from feeling like the third wheel. Not to mention that it would look like she was the third wheel to others, which might attract the slightest bit of attention. They couldn't risk that.

Tania knew her way around the mall the best, so she led them to the Apple store on the second floor. She'd been here plenty of times, contemplating getting a whole new wardrobe. She had never really decided, but she'd wandered these halls enough times to know them by heart.

When they arrived, Natasha grabbed the first available computer. Tania and Steve hovered over each of her shoulders. "The drive has a level six homing program so as soon as we boot up, S.H.I.E.L.D. will know exactly where we are," Natasha warned.

Crap. How were they going to pull this off?

"How much time do we have?" Steve asked anxiously, looking around.

"About nine minutes… from…" She plugged in the drive. "Now." Her fingers danced across the keys, her repetitive clicking blending in with everyone else's. Steve continued to look around like a paranoid man while Tania peered curiously at the screen, her sunglasses resting on her head. Natasha typed faster than Tania could read. "Fury was right about that ship. Somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of A.I. It keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."

"Can you override it?" Tania asked.

Natasha exhaled tightly through her nose, the clicking never ceasing. "Whoever wrote this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly."

"Could we bring it to Tony and ask him to work on it?"

"Hang on. I'm gonna try running a tracer. It's a program that S.H.I.E.L.D. developed to track hostile malware _so_ if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from."

Tania hummed. Maybe they should have just gone to Tony in the first place. The Tower was safe-

Oh. Tony was in Miami and the Tower was under construction. Right. The Avengers were currently disassembled.

"Can I help you guys with anything?" The three of them turned sharply to the newcomer: a long-haired male employee with a friendly face.

Natasha giggled. _Giggled_. "Oh, no. I was just helping these two lovebirds look for honeymoon destinations." She very nearly squealed in delight. It was very convincing. And kind of disturbing.

Steve blinked. "Uh, right." He snaked an arm around Tania's waist and she put on a smile, but it felt fake. "We're getting married." It felt like a lie, even though it wasn't. Was that wrong? Maybe it was just guilt for lying. _I can't even sort out my own feelings_ , she grumbled to herself behind her smile.

The employee didn't pick up on that, thank goodness. "Congratulations!" He said brightly. "Where are you guys thinking about going?" Crap. Small talk.

Steve looked at the screen. "Uh, New-"

Tania, who had already seen the screen, stepped on Steve's foot and cut him off. "Somewhere tropical," she answered. "Maybe Hawaii."

"Ah. A classic."

"It's classic for a reason!" _What_ was _that_? Ugh. She was so terrible at this.

"Exactly." He looked over at Steve and opened his mouth as if to say something, then didn't. Uh oh. Was that… recognition? Tania gripped Steve's bicep a little tighter. "I have… the exact same glasses." The employee smiled at them again.

Tania and Steve blew out a collective sigh of relief. Whoops. _Too obvious!_ She blushed and laughed nervously. "What a coincidence!" She squeaked. Okay, she _really_ needed to work on her lying skills.

"You two are practically twins," Natasha teased, still typing.

"I wish," said the employee with a laugh. He looked Steve up and down in admiration. "Specimen."

Tania "coughed" into her hand. She could see the back of Steve's neck redden as he nodded, totally unsure of what to say to that. Tania couldn't hold back her laughter and buried her face in his side, shaking quietly.

The employee backed away slowly. Maybe it was because he thought they were crazy or maybe it was because he sensed that they didn't need his help. Either way, Tania was grateful. "Well, if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron." He held up his name tag that hung around his neck.

"Thank you," Steve said, eager to be away from Aaron. When he was gone, Steve sighed and turned back to the screen, leaving his arm around Tania's waist as if he had forgotten that it was there.

Tania really didn't mind.

Seconds passed and Tania began to get as anxious as Steve. "You said nine minutes, come on," he urged.

"Relax," breathed Natasha. _Click-click-click_. "Got it." The program zoomed in on a map of the United States. It zoomed in further. _Wheaton, New Jersey._

Steve's expression turned very serious and he leaned forward as if he really needed those glasses he was wearing. He squinted at the monitor, his expression somewhere on the spectrum between "confused" and "upset".

Tania couldn't say that Wheaton was familiar. Of all the places her parents had dragged her and Graham around, New Jersey hadn't been one of them. "What is it?" She asked warily. "Have you been there before?"

"Yeah. Before." Before? As in "before I went down in ice" before? She wanted to ask questions, but he yanked the USB out of the computer and let his arm fall away from her waist. "Let's go." He was walking away even as he finished speaking.

"You know you could have just lost a bunch of data by not ejecting it properly," Natasha called after him as she and Tania speed-walked out of the store to catch up.

"No time," Steve answered over his shoulder. "Nine minutes are up." The trio walked (not ran) through the mall, looking for the closest escalator to get downstairs. If it came to a chase, being able to exit onto the ground without jumping out of a window would be preferable. Tania led the way, trying to scan her surroundings without being obvious about it. Steve suddenly spoke up, loud enough for only the three of them to hear. "Standard tact team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us."

Tania's heart began to beat faster.

"If they make us, I'll engage. Nat, you hit them at the south escalator by the metro. Tania will take-"

"Shut up and put your arms around each other. Laugh at something you said." Natasha fell back and distanced herself from them, blowing a large enough bubble with her gum to hide her face.

Tania and Steve were quick to follow orders and ducked their heads together, laughing at nothing. The two agents straight ahead passed them and Natasha without a second glance. Some tact team.

Heart pounding, Tania made it to the escalator and stepped on. It was a pretty busy mall, so they had that going for them. Natasha, who was behind, leaned forward suddenly and disconcertingly. "Make out."

"What?"

"Do it."

Tania hesitated, but Steve took the initiative and pulled her in for a kiss. Embers flared in her stomach, burning brightly. She might have missed this the most. Just the slow, languid, soft kisses that could last for hours. Steve's lips slotted with hers so perfectly that she felt whole again when they were locked together.

Despite their fights, their lies, their secrets, Tania and Steve loved each other and were getting married. They cared deeply for each other and had started a life together – just the two of them. A fight wasn't going to ruin their relationship and the amount of effort they'd had to put into building it. She relaxed into the kiss and reached up to slip her hands behind the back of his neck.

Natasha had said to "make out", right? That was excuse enough to include some tongue in this kissing session, right? Wait, she didn't need an excuse.

Someone yanked on her arm and she stumbled off the bottom of the escalator and onto the floor, trailing after Natasha, who let go. Steve jogged to catch up, looking a bit dazed. Tania blushed and rubbed at her nose where his glasses had bumped her.

Okay. She was making up with Steve the moment they were both free.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N. Hey, guys. Ugh. Sorry for the wait. Life threw me a few curveballs. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer - I still don't own the Avengers.**

 **Chapter Eight**

They were nearly blinded by the sun when they exited the mall and Tania slid her sunglasses back down. Her eyes hurt. She felt like there was a circle burning around each one. That might also be the lack of sleep because Fury's murder kept them all up until morning. If she was being honest, that event was _still_ keeping them up.

"We need a quick getaway," Natasha stated, looking around.

Steve nodded curtly as if he was given an order. "I'm on it." He dashed into the parking lot. Tania and Natasha shared a look before following him. Were they going to catch a cab? Tania didn't have any money left and neither did Steve.

They found Steve in the driver's seat of a rusty, beat-up, blue pick-up truck with the door still open. "Get in," he told them, slamming the door.

Tania looked at Natasha, who raised an eyebrow. Tania shrugged. "Shotgun," she shouted and jogged over to the other side before yanking open the door and pulling herself inside. Once the two doors swung shut, Steve, who had been fiddling with something under the steering wheel since the women arrived, grunted. The engine flared to life, shaking the entire vehicle and making the seats vibrate.

Steve sat back and slid his seatbelt on.

Tania copied him. "So… where to?"

"New Jersey," Steve replied and shifted into reverse so that they could pull out of the parking spot. He twisted his torso and rested his right hand on the shoulder of Tania's seat so that he could look behind them.

"New Jersey isn't exactly small," she pointed out.

"Don't worry. I know where we're going."

"And why are we going there, exactly?"

"We need to know why Fury needed this drive so much," Natasha answered, leaning forward from the back seat to rest her chin on the back of Tania's chair, right where Steve's hand was. "On this drive was a location."

"And at the location…?"

Natasha shrugged. "We'll find out what's really going on. Once we have all the facts, or as many as we can, then we can do something about all this. Maybe we can even track down the Winter Soldier and put him down for all his kills."

"Or send him to jail," Tania suggested wryly as an alternative she knew would be unpopular with the assassin.

Nat shrugged again. "As long I can get as many hits in as I can for what he did to Fury." She sat back and crossed her arms, staring resolutely out the window. Hmm. Maybe she wasn't as big a fan of that method as Tania had assumed.

She really should stop assuming things.

Steve faced forward and merged into traffic, the truck bouncing and clanking along the way. Tania wondered how long this thing would last. She checked the gas gauge. Half empty. Good enough for now.

They were silent as Washington passed them by. Tania contemplated turning on the radio, but she wasn't really in the mood for listening to music. Now that her adrenaline wasn't pumping and she didn't really have anything else to focus on, her body was starting to hurt. Well, she was starting to notice more, anyway. Her elbow and knee were both smarting and she rubbed them absentmindedly. There were definitely going to be bruises there later.

The back of her head stung from being smashed into the wall, but it hadn't bled, which was good. It did feel a little concave, but she was probably just being paranoid. It had probably always been like that. It wasn't like she felt the back of her head every day.

Twisting her wrists made them ache, but she didn't think she'd broken them – _again_. Her ankles were the same. Her stomach felt like there was still a knee shoved in there. With time it should go back to normal.

"Any injuries to speak of?" She asked, looking around at Steve.

He didn't look at her, but she didn't blame him. He was very serious about the safety of driving. She knew this from the few times he'd actually driven a car since getting his license earlier that year. April, if she wasn't mistaken. "No," he replied, checking his mirrors. "I'm fine."

"You said that word again."

He ducked his head sharply as if to say, "Damn it!" She'd recently started calling him on his frequent use of the word "fine" and his tendency to not actually be fine by someone else's definition (mainly hers).

"What happened between Pierce's office and the lobby? I got attacked on the stairs. You were in the elevator, right?"

Steve's grip on the wheel tightened. "Yeah. Pierce sent Rumlow, Grillo, and a bunch of other agents to knock me down."

"But they didn't."

"No."

"Okay, so what was with the whole 'crashing through the ceiling'?"

"… I may have… jumped from the elevator by floor sixteen."

"Steve!" She cried exasperatedly. "Why would you do that?"

"There were more agents coming. Too many. Especially if Pierce is able to command all of S.H.I.E.L.D. I needed to find the fastest way out. That was the fastest way. I survived. I'm fi-"

"Ah-ah!"

"I'm okay!" He insisted. "The shield blocked most of the glass, so I'm not cut."

"And the fall? The landing?"

"It hurt, but it didn't break any skin. I'm surprised, but it didn't. I checked. I'll bruise for a bit and then it'll be gone."

"Alright, then." She couldn't believe she was just going to let that go. "What about the fight? Did they hurt you?"

"They got a few hits in, but that happens in every fight."

"Not with you, Steve."

"You overestimate my fighting skills."

"She isn't," Natasha piped up. "You've been learning as many kinds of martial arts as there are that exist ever since you woke up. You've been training in Capoeira, Karate, Kung Fu, Jiu-Jitsu, even Tai Chi. Not to mention Bokator, Aikido, Judo, Ninjutsu, Taekwondo-"

"I get it," Steve cut her off. "I train a lot. The first person that ever taught me to fight was Bucky. Then it was the military generals. But neither of those styles suited me at the time. That was where Peggy came in. She taught me how to fight as the smaller opponent. She taught me how to fight like a woman." He almost smiled. "Then I got big and sort of mashed them all together, but it wasn't proper martial arts. It was just instinct and strength and I knew I couldn't rely on that forever."

"You're good, Steve," Tania whispered. "Really good. You're one of two people I have ever known to have beaten Natasha while sparring." Clint being the other, but apparently that had only happened once.

"I love that that's how you decide he's a good fighter," said Nat, the grin on her face evident simply from her tone of voice.

"So the fact that they hit you…"

"I was outnumbered," Steve countered stiffly.

"Did they have electric rods?"

His eyes slid over to her for a second. "Yes. Did yours?"

"Yes."

"Did they-?"

"No. I managed to avoid it."

Steve didn't make to answer.

"Steve."

"Rumlow may have… zapped me… a few times."

She sighed. "Steve…"

"I'm _fine_ ," he ground out. "I'll be healed by the end of tomorrow."

"I don't have a problem with that," Tania said quietly. "What I have a problem with is that I had to force you to tell me – with Natasha's help. When did we stop talking to each other about these kinds of things? About secret visits to the Smithsonian?"

Steve's grip on the steering wheel was so tight that the leather creaked. His knuckles were white. Natasha was right. Steve was a terrible liar. "I don't-"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Steve!" Tania exclaimed. This wasn't what she called making up, but maybe once they talked things out, they could get there. "You've been keeping secrets from me even before Fury's death. I want to know why. It's like just when I've finally climbed out of my depression, you started pulling away from me."

"Can we not have this conversation now?"

"If we keep putting this off, we'll never have it."

"Can we at least have it in private?"

"We need to stop keeping secrets from Natasha too."

"This isn't a secret. It's private matters."

Tania threw up her hands. "Our lives have just been turned upside down. Possibly. When are we going to get another free moment?"

"When it's all over."

"And how long will that take?"

Steve didn't answer.

" What if our fight just never ends because you're too chicken to face it."

"I'm not scared of our arguments," he declared angrily.

"Do I get a say in this?" Natasha interrupted, leaning forward so that she was between them. "Because I'm with Steve. I don't really want to be here for this conversation."

Tania huffed. "Fine! Let's spend three hours in stony and electric silence because Steve refuses to tell me anything!"

Steve opened his mouth.

"If you're not going to tell me what you've been hiding, then don't talk to me."

Steve's mouth remained open for a bit, but then he closed it and kept driving.

* * *

Several minutes passed in complete silence. Tania's phone vibrated. There was a text from Drew.

 _Dad set me up w a SHIELD safe house. Rocky & I R safe. Thx 4 taking care of me as much as U could. I really appreciate it. C U when I C U._

That was good to know. It was a little bit of weight off of Tania's shoulders knowing that Rocky and Drew were safe. "Our dog is fine, by the way," she informed her fellow passengers coldly. "But I guess if he disappeared for long periods of time and didn't tell you where he was, you would totally understand and not ask questions."

Steve sighed. "Tania, keeping secrets was not my intention." He seemed to be calmer now, at least. "I don't enjoy keeping secrets from you."

"Is it your secret to tell?"

"… yes."

"Why haven't you told me?" She asked quietly, turning her head to look at him for the first time in maybe half an hour. "Have I done something to lose your trust?"

"No. No, of course not. I trust you, Tania. I do. I just…"

"Just… what?"

"I just didn't want you to know."

Tania sighed and pressed her head against the window. "Let me know when you're ready to tell me something useful."

The silence returned.

* * *

"Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?" Natasha blurted some time later. They had just passed the sign welcoming them to New Jersey. It appeared that she was getting overwhelmed by boredom too.

"Nazi Germany," Steve answered. "And we're borrowing. Don't mess anything up back there."

"Why didn't you trust me?"

Steve sighed once more. There seemed to be no end to the amount of sighs he could produce in one day. "Fury told us not to trust anyone."

"Those were his last words," Tania added, still staring out the window. It was getting dark outside and clouds were rolling in.

"And you thought that included the Avengers? People you've lived with for a year and a half? People you've trusted over and over before? How did Fury manage to plant a seed of doubt when nothing else could?"

There was a pause in which neither of them knew what to say. "It was the secrets," Tania admitted finally, her breath fogging the glass. "Steve's secrecy. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. Mine. Everyone was lying to each other. I didn't think there was an exception to that rule. It was paranoia. I'm sorry, Natasha. I trust you with my life and more.

A beat. "So what was Fury doing in your apartment last night?"

"He told us that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised."

"By who?"

"We don't know. The apartment was bugged, so Fury was showing us messages on his phone. He was shot before he could tell us much else. He gave us the drive and told us not to trust anyone. I didn't want anyone else to die because I made the mistake he'd warned me against."

"… You are forgiven."

"Thank you." Tania glared pointedly at Steve before turning back to the window.

"You just came out of a dark place," Steve blurted. "I didn't want to bring you back." What?

She looked at him curiously.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Natasha threw out, leaning forward again. "You're low on gas too. Stop at the next station, would you?"

Steve eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. Whatever he'd been about to say was put on hold. _Thanks, Natasha,_ Tania thought sarcastically.

They pulled into a strip mall not too much later and Natasha hopped out of the truck, slamming the door behind her. Steve made to get out, but Natasha said that she could take care of filling up the tank. He persisted, but she stood like a statue in his way and refused to let him out. Seeing that he wasn't going to win, he sat back down.

Steve and Tania were alone. They were in _private_. Now Tania got it. _Thank you, Natasha_. She turned to Steve. "You don't have to go?" To the bathroom, she meant.

He shook his head. "You?"

"No. And if I did, it could wait. We need to talk this out _now_."

Steve hesitated, but then nodded. "I agree." Good.

"Why would your bring me back down to where I was? How would you do that?"

"I… I think I… I miss it."

"What?" Outside, there was some clunking noises as Natasha refilled the tank.

"I thought I'd moved on," Steve said quietly. "I thought I could deal with it. I thought you were enough. But I still miss it. I haven't thought about it since I chose to stay with you. Maybe that's why it came back so suddenly. Like I've been avoiding thinking about it for so long that when it came back, it hit me hard enough to knock me off my feet."

"Steve… what are you talking about?"

"Do you know what's at the Smithsonian?" He asked suddenly.

"Uh, no. Never been. You said you'd take me one day."

He nodded. "Right. Uh, well, there's a… Captain America exhibit."

Her eyebrows raised. "Okay…?"

"I've been… visiting it… periodically. A lot."

"Okay…? Why?"

"There's a lot of artefacts. My old bike's there. My old uniform. The one I actually wore. There are photos. Of me. Of Bucky. Of Peggy. Howard. Dugan. Photos that I didn't even know existed. There are videos of people that I knew. Reels of Bucky and me laughing at something Dum Dum said. Inventions of Howard's that helped us during the war. There's a narrator who tells me my life's story. I went there once out of curiosity and then… I couldn't stop.

"There were things I'd never known written on panels and there were pictures I'd never seen. Peggy had done an interview where she talked about me and how I was still changing her life even after I'd… died. And I just thought… I thought about the life I might've had if I'd never gone down. I'd have never met you. And I'd be _happy_ because Peggy would've been enough.

"That exhibit takes me back. It's almost like that time machine was never destroyed. It's like I can live in the past, where I'm _supposed_ to be. No matter how used to things I get, no matter how much I like living here, I will never _belong_. After Peggy died… I lost everyone I knew who could take me back there.

"When I found this… it was like I could pretend. I can hear and see Bucky and he's _happy_. I can watch videos of the Commandos after I went down. See what happened to them. I can touch things that I used to use. My old shield. My show uniform. My old helmet. The first gun that Howard equipped me with. I can feel it. It's there. It's _real_. It wasn't all a dream."

"Steve…"

"I didn't tell you because I feel ashamed. I shouldn't miss it so much. I _chose_ to live here with you and the Avengers and I refuse to regret it. I can't go back. I should have accepted that, but then I _could_ and then I _couldn't_ and I just-" He broke off, his lips pursed tightly. "I didn't want you to think that you weren't enough."

Tania softened considerably. She unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted so that she faced him as much as she could. She raised one hand to his cheek and gently brushed her thumb against the skin there. "Steve… what you went through… it's traumatizing at best and universe-shattering at worst. It's okay to miss it. It's okay to regret your decisions. I don't blame you at all."

"I don't regret it," he said firmly. "I love you. I love you so much. You should be enough."

"And am I?"

He looked down.

"It's okay if I'm not," she whispered. It really wasn't, but she wouldn't blame him. It was incredibly idealistic to believe that their relationship would last forever.

"I don't know," he breathed, refusing to meet her eye. "I just know that I can't lose you."

She slid her hand to the back of his neck and slowly brought his head forward so that their foreheads met above the gear shift. "You won't lose me," she promised solemnly. It didn't matter if it was cliché as long as it was true. "Not like this. You can miss your past all you want. I understand."

He closed his eyes, one hand coming up to grasp her wrist. "I'm sorry, Tania. I never wanted to isolate you. I just didn't want you to worry about our relationship."

"I'm not worried about that," she said truthfully. "I'm worried about you. But that's nothing unusual."

He chuckled quietly. "Maybe you could get me in contact with your therapist?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to see the _same_ therapist."

"Hmm. Maybe you're right."

"I'm still mad at you for keeping this a secret from me."

"I know."

"But I love you too." She pressed a quick kiss on his nose. "And we'll get through this together."

Steve's eyes trailed down to her lips and then they were kissing again, locked in a passionate embrace. They would get through this and they would make it work. That's what they always did. No matter what life threw at them, they came out on top.

The back door of the truck opened and Steve and Tania pulled apart. They could have make up sex later. It was a promise.

Natasha got in the back and closed the door, plastic bags rustling on her arms as she crawled over to the middle of the seat and grinned at the two of them, still chewing her gum. "All sorted out?"

"Pretty much," Tania answered. She pointed at the many bags dangling from Natasha's arms. "Do some shopping?" How long had they been making out?

"I figured you guys would need longer than it takes for me to go to the bathroom to get things settled, so I bought us all a late lunch slash early dinner from the sandwich shop next door." She removed all of the bags from one arm handed them to Steve. "I got you, like, seven sandwiches. I hope that's enough."

"That should be great. Thanks, Nat," Steve told her honestly. He piled all of the bags onto Tania's lap because he couldn't have them in his own while driving. He started on the first sandwich.

Natasha passed Tania two bags of her own and then settled in the back as casually as if she sat there every day. "According to my phone, we're about an hour out. Let's try and get there and get out in time for us to get some sleep."

"Where exactly are we going to sleep?" Tania asked as Steve started the engine.

Natasha shrugged. "Depends. A hotel, probably. But if things get really bad, then we'll probably sleep in this truck."

"Great," Tania drawled and took a bite of her sandwich.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N. Please note that I have changed the ages of the characters. To be clear, Steve is 24 (94), Tania is 25, Natasha is 24, Clint and Graham are 23, etc. These their ages because I didn't learn until a few months ago how old the characters actually were (Steve was 28 I think, Natasha was 29, and Clint was probably somewhere in his late thirties if AoU is anything to go by) and so I just made them up in previous installments. For the sake of continuity, the ages will remain the same as previously stated (aka wrong, but shh!). Please enjoy the next chapter of Brewing Coffee With Stania! :D**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the Avengers**

 **Chapter Nine**

They arrived at an abandoned camp of some sort about an hour later, the clouds blocking out all sunlight as they pulled up to the metal gate. Steve cut the engine and the three of them hopped out. Steve grabbed his shield from the back while Tania grabbed her borrowed bag, slinging it over her shoulder and weaving both arms through.

"This it?" She asked, looking around.

Natasha met them at the front of the truck, her phone raised high in the air as if to look for reception. "The file came from these coordinates," she confirmed, stuffing the cell in her back pocket.

They walked up to a sign on the gate that read:

 _Camp Lehigh_

 _U.S. Army Restricted Area_

"So did I," Steve said quietly. Without elaborating, he wrenched the gate open with his bare hands and entered the camp. "Let's spread out. Any idea what we're looking for?"

"A computer," replied Natasha. "Look for anything you could plug a USB into."

Orders set, the three of them split up to cover more ground. The camp was rather large. It was evident that it was really old and had been abandoned long ago.

With Steve being vague and nostalgic, it was inevitable that Tania start to make theories. It was a training camp, one that Steve was familiar with. The connections weren't hard to make. This must have been where he met Peggy, not to mention Erskine, Phillips, and Howard. Knowing those people and dozens of soldiers from World War Two had walked these very grounds, Tania felt solemn and appreciative as she searched. This was a piece of history.

They wandered around until the darkness engulfed them completely, shrouding the three of them with a sense of foreboding. As the evening wore on, they began to search closer and closer to each other, always making sure that one or the other was in their peripheral vision. Eventually, they were close enough to hold a conversation. Lit by the flashlights on their cell phones, the trio found themselves by a trail tgat looked like it had been used for a running track.

Natasha couldn't seem to hold it in any longer. "What did you mean when you said you came from here? You're being unusually cryptic today."

"This was where I was trained," he answered without turning to them.

"Change much?" She asked distractedly, using her phone to track the coordinates of the computer. Or something.

Steve stopped walking and stared up at a flagpole with undeniable nostalgia. Tania paused to watch him. "A little," he admitted quietly.

She watched as he stood there, transfixed by something near the flagpole. Maybe he was having a flashback? Was it good or bad?

"This is a dead end," Natasha declared loudly, interrupting both Tania and Steve's thoughts. They turned to look at her, the light from Tania's phone swinging around. "Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio." She pocketed her phone again. "Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off." She didn't sound like this bothered her at all. They'd just driven three hours to a different state in a "borrowed" truck to learn absolutely nothing about Fury's death or the security or state of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Now what?" She turned to Steve, who was very good at giving orders, but he was distracted by something else. "Steve?"

"Follow me," he commanded and began speed walking for a building not too far away. Tania and Natasha hurried after him. "Army regulations forbid storing munitions within five hundred yards of the barracks." Um, okay? "This building's in the wrong place." They arrived at the doors of what Tania presumed was the munitions storage unit. How Steve could tell without a sign was beyond her, since he didn't appear to remember this thing being here. The doors to it were large, wooden, and locked.

Steve braced his shield on his arm and brought it down sharply on the lock. It gave way easily, having rusted over the years. He shifted the shield higher and braced both palms against the door. He gave a mighty heave and shoved them open with a long, loud creak.

Tania, the one with the flashlight, went in first. The unit itself was empty and dusty, but there was a staircase leading underground. Heart stuttering, Tania grabbed hold of the railing with one hand and kept her phone high with the other. She slowly made her way down the stairs, illuminating as much as she could. This reminded her very much of the time B.E.T.A. had climbed a lighthouse in search of clues to find the missing Avengers.

When she made it the floor, she searched the walls for a light switch. She found one and flicked it on. The room lit up section by section to reveal a rather large office floor. There were rows of desks and chairs aligned messily. Several layers of dust covered everything. Some lightbulbs flickered. On the wall was the insignia for the Strategic Science Reserve, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s precursor.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha's statement was unnecessary, but Tania didn't comment. It all came back to the same peace keeping organization.

"Where it started," Steve agreed, walking down the aisle between the desks, shadowed by Natasha and Tania, who turned her phone off. Her battery was very close to dying.

He led them to a room that looked like it was meant for files and paperwork. Square, wooden shelves lined the walls and there were a couple of tables strewn about. There was a filing cabinet in the corner. Hung on the wall were three photos. One of them depicted Colonel Phillips, the other one Howard Stark, and the third Peggy Carter.

"There's Tony's father," Natasha said.

"Yeah," Tania echoed. She missed Howard and Peggy. They'd been good people. Fun, too. And she felt bad for zapping Colonel Phillips so many times. Poor man.

Steve continued his rounds about the room, searching for something – anything. Tania dragged her fingers along the wall. The beige paint was crumbling and peeling. The dust came off on her hand. When was the last time anyone had been here? If it was recently, they obviously didn't care about keeping the place clean. Maybe it had been a touch-and-go kind of thing.

"If you're already working in a secret office…" Steve said out of the blue. Tania looked away from the wall and at Steve and Natasha, who stood in front of one of the shelves mostly covered in cobwebs. Steve reached for the crack between two shelving units and grabbed the side with one hand. He scrunched up his face and shoved the unit to the side. Tania stepped back and joined the others, watching as Steve single-handedly rearranged furniture three times his size to reveal a set of double doors. "… why do you need to hide the elevator?"

It was a valid question.

Steve tried to pry the doors open, severely denting his nails in the process. "We'll fix those when we can go home," Tania promised, peering at them.

"You are not touching my nails," Steve deadpanned, digging them further into the crack as he pushed with all his might.

"But they're all mangled now!"

"I can clip them."

"Filing would-"

"I'll clip them."

"B-"

"Guys," interrupted Natasha. "Let me." Steve stepped back and Natasha raised her phone, pointing the camera at the number pad to the right of the elevator. She opened an app to scan the buttons for fingerprints.

"That's amazing," Tania commented, forgetting all about Steve's nails (much to his relief). While to domesticity had been nice, reality was pushing too hard to ignore. Tania was doing her best to try anyway. "Do all Stark phones have that?"

"No. Just ours. Never know when an Avenger could need something like that. It's because it's a Stark phone that I haven't destroyed mine yet. They're completely untraceable."

"Good to know."

Natasha punched in the code and the doors opened obediently. The three of them exchanged wary glances. They were already underground. Just how far did this thing go? They entered the elevator without a word. There was only one button on the inside, so Natasha pressed it. The doors closed and down they went.

"There's no music in this elevator either," Tania said.

The silence was unnerving. The lack of windows, especially compared to the elevator at the Triskelion, was also unnerving. They descended for what felt like a longer time than what probably was. There was a "ding!" and the doors pushed open.

It was a room blanketed in darkness. For a few moments, nobody made any move to enter. Tania was getting a seriously creepy "haunted house" vibe from this place. To her surprise, Steve grabbed her hand. She looked over at him. Was he scared?

"Stay close," he ordered.

Oh. That made sense. He was worried something might happen to her or Natasha. Right. Nothing to be scared of.

Gulp.

Steve stepped out first, followed by Tania, followed by Natasha. Tania kept a firm grip on Steve's hand. She was still wearing the bag she'd stolen over one shoulder. Her batons were inside. She took comfort knowing that they were close by, but they weren't quick to reach. Well, not quick enough that if she were in a fight could get them out immediately.

The doors closed behind them and they all looked back. _They're not locked,_ Tania repeated to herself firmly. _They're not locked. They're not locked. We can go back any time we want._

A few more steps further and the lights flickered to life. Motion sensor. Now brightly lit, Tania could see that the room was somewhat expansive and filled to the brim with computers. Well, one large computer that took up the entire room. She'd heard somewhere that the first ever computer was large like this one. In fact, this was exactly how she'd pictured that computer.

There was a slightly raised platform, surrounding which appeared to be the main parts of the computer. There were a few monitors and keyboards and such. They stepped onto the platform, observing their surroundings in awe.

It was like the suspense had been sucked out of the room when the lights came on, but Tania still had a feeling in her gut that whatever she was afraid of hadn't magically gone away.

"This can't be the data point," Natasha told them, looking around in disbelief. Well, she _had_ said to look for a computer. "This technology's ancient."

"I haven't seen another computer anywhere. Have you?" Tania was staring at the hundreds of reels forming a maze on either side of the platform. How many were there?

"No, but I think I understand now."

Tania and Steve made their way over and found what Natasha was referring to. There was a sleek, black hard drive plugged in to the computer with a couple of USB slots. It looked modern. In hindsight, it should have stuck out like a sore thumb, but to Tania and Natasha, the old computers were the weird part of this picture. Also in hindsight, the motion sensor lights should have tipped them off to the not so ancient technology.

Natasha pulled Fury's USB out of her sweater pocket and inserted it into one of the slots. The reels came to life and began to spin. Lights on the monitors and devices flashed colourfully. Something hummed loudly in the background and the floor vibrated slightly. More lights came on and the camera on top of the main monitor began to move.

Tania was officially creeped out.

Green letters appeared on the screen as if someone was typing them.

 _Initiate system?_

The words were accompanied by an equally creepy robotic voice that read them aloud. When no one moved, Natasha took the final step forward and bravely typed out an answer on the keyboard. "Y-E-S spells yes," she sung under her breath. They waited as something booted up. "Shall we play a game?" She asked in an imitation robot voice with an off-kilter smile. She stood up to her full height so that she didn't have to bend over the keyboard anymore. "It's from a movie that was really popular-"

"Yeah, I know," Steve said. "We saw it." Tania and Steve had marathoned a bunch of older movies to catch him up on pop culture back around the time they'd first met.

The screen sparked with green lines that soon formed a face. It was the face of an older male with round spectacles. Tania couldn't tell much more than that. Then the face moved.

" _Rogers, Steven,"_ it spoke. While the voice was definitely robot-sounding, the tones and inclinations were frighteningly human. _"Born 1922."_

Tania shivered. The camera whirred and turned to face her. _"Banks, Tania. Born 1989."_ How did it know that? It had facial recognition? That was way advanced for a computer this archaic. The camera moved again and slowly turned to face Natasha, who was looking just as freaked out by this as Tania was. _"Romanova, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1990."_

"It… must be some kind of recording," Natasha tried to rationalize, staring openly with wide eyes at the computer.

" _I am not a recording, Fr_ _aulein_ _,"_ the computer exclaimed. _"I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945…"_ He sounded bitter about that fact. "B _ut I am…"_ he trailed off.

Tania knew J.A.R.V.I.S. so talking computers wasn't much of a step up. But was this a _real_ A.I.? Sure, J.A.R.V.I.S. had sarcasm and attitude and such, but those were programs. _Emotion_ was something completely different that Tony had yet to master. The robotic butler wasn't a real artificial intelligence. Could this…?

A picture of a real person popped up on one of the secondary monitors. Tania recognized him from somewhere. A high school textbook, maybe? It was of an older male with round… glasses. Oh. But… but…

Tania's mind was drawing blanks repeatedly, like a printer that wouldn't stop spitting out empty pages.

Steve leaned forward. Natasha, who stood on Steve's other side, stepped closer to him. "You know this thing?" It was obvious that she was having a hard time wrapping her head around this too. Aliens were one thing, but technology this advanced on a computer this _old_ just wasn't possible.

Steve slid his hand out of Tania's, apparently no longer worried, and stepped off the platform so that he could get a better look at the back of the computer. "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for Red Skull," he explained. "He's been dead for years." His tone held a trace of refusal to believe what was right in front of him.

" _First correction: I am Swiss. Second: look around you. I have never been more alive."_ There was definitely some sort of German or apparently Swiss accent to the computer. J.A.R.V.I.S. was British, though, so… _"In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however… that was worth saving."_

 _Doubt it_ , Tania thought as Steve came all the way around and stood between the two women once again, taking his place at the head of their little triangle. He took Tania's hand again, this time for reassurance. She squeezed and he squeezed back.

The computer, Zola, went on. _"On two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You… are standing in my brain."_

"How did you get here?" Steve demanded to know. Why was Zola downloaded onto a S.H.I.E.L.D. computer if he was Hydra?

" _Invited,"_ Zola answered proudly.

"It was Operation Paperclip," Natasha blurted. Her eyes were blank, like she was too busy searching her mind for this information to bother staring at anything in particular. "After World War Two, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited German scientists with…" She shrugged awkwardly. Natasha was _never_ awkward. "… strategic value."

" _They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."_

"The worst of Hydra died with the Red Skull," Steve stated firmly. "And then again with Neo Red Skull." Tania wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.

" _Cut off one head… two more shall take its place."_ A Hydra symbol appeared on the screen briefly before the creepy face that bore a remarkable resemblance to the real Zola reappeared. It split into two separate faces and then melded back into one, glitching occasionally as the green lines blurred in and out.

"Prove it."

Tania was pretty sure that Steve was going to regret saying that.

Zola seemed almost glad to have been asked. All of the monitors surrounding Zola's "face" began to flicker as images and files flashed past. _"Accessing archive. Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist."_

Several clips and footage from the war played on screen. Red Skull was there. Steve was there. She squeezed his hand again. He did not respond.

" _The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded and I was recruited. The new Hydra grew; a beautiful parasite_ inside _S.H.I.E.L.D. For seventy years, Hydra has been secretly feeding crises, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate? History was changed."_ Images of the Winter Soldier appeared.

Natasha looked severely flabbergasted as she stepped up. "That's impossible," she breathed. "S.H.I.E.L.D. would have stopped you." It went unspoken that Fury would have stopped him too.

" _Accidents happen,"_ argued Zola smugly. A newspaper article popped up with the headline describing Howard and Maria Stark's deaths. Tania's hand flew to her mouth. _No_. Tony's parents. Howard and Maria. The car accident…

… _wasn't an accident._

Fury's picture flickered past next. The word "deceased" was stamped across it.

Both heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. found out about Hydra. Both were murdered for it. By the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier who was _Hydra._

Zola went on as if he hadn't just shattered their entire worlds. _"For those who could not get into S.H.I.E.L.D, they waited in their homes. In January of 2013, the outsiders became impatient and formed a group of small Hydra followers led my Dominik Schmidt. They were not willing to wait for Pierce to make the order. As a result, they were defeated. I have to thank you, Captain. They were starting to get troublesome."_

Steve clenched his fists. All that they had gone through… all that they had suffered… for all the fighting that they had done to ensure the destruction of Hydra _twice_ over… all they had really done was destroy a single branch off of a healthy tree

" _Those of us patient enough to wait created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, Hydra's new world order will arise."_ He threw up pictures and videos of helicarriers and something called Project Insight. What did that mean? _"We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your life."_ Zola's face twisted into a nasty grin. " _A zero sum."_

Steve let go of Tania and threw a powerful punch at the screen, cracking a hole straight through it. Zola cut off abruptly and the face disappeared. Tania gasped. She was appalled at his violent reaction. Before she could think about it too much, the face reappeared on one of the secondary monitors. _"As I was saying,"_ he continued.

This was _so_ messed up.

"What's on this drive?" Steve demanded angrily, his knuckles scratched and red.

" _Project Insight requires… insight. So I wrote an algorithm."_

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha spoke up, equally angry.

Tania was just in shell shock.

" _The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."_ What?

Something whirred behind them and they all spun around. Metal doors were closing in front of the elevator: their only way out. Steve reacted quickly and flung his shield forward. It bounced off the metal doors just as they closed and it rebounded faithfully back to him.

Natasha pulled out her phone, which was apparently beeping. "Guys, we got a bogie. Short range ballistic. Thirty seconds tops."

 _Holy shit._

"Who fired it?" Steve asked.

Natasha lowered her phone, eyes wide. "S.H.I.E.L.D."

" _I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain."_

Right. The homing program. The whole nine minutes thing. God _damn_!

Natasha yanked out the USB as rapidly as Steve had done at the mall. Zola ranted on calmly. _"Admit it. It's better this way."_

Tania spun around. There was nowhere to run. "We need some place to hide!"

" _We are both of us…"_

Steve yanked a grate out of the floor and threw it across the room.

"… _out of time."_

"In here!"

Natasha ran for it and jumped in. Tania sped after her-

 _BOOM!_

She was picked up by the wind and flew forward. Heat lashed out from behind, scraping her back like a powerful whip. Steve grabbed her hand midair and together they fell into the hole that had been beneath the grate. She landed on her back and Steve landed beside her.

The explosions were deafening. There were booms and fire and falling rocks and the clanging of metal and weight and Steve was screaming and she was screaming and _pain_ and roaring and crumbling and _impending death_ -


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N. Hey, guys. Sorry about leaving you with that cliff-hanger for so long. It was unintentional, I promise. Things are getting really complicated right now and I'm pressed for time so the next update might not be for another few weeks.**

 **Final disclaimer of the story - I DON'T own the Avengers**

 **Chapter Ten**

The first thing she realized was that her chest was constricted. In the next second, panic consumed her and gasped; or rather, she tried to. Everything snapped back into her mind as if her memories had begun to float away without a conscious barrier holding them in place, only to be ripped back like an elastic band had broken.

Zola.

Hydra.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Winter Soldier.

Explosion.

 _Death_.

Except she was alive. "…" She coughed. She had tried to say Steve's name. "S…" She tried again, only managing to mouth the word. She licked her lips and found they were covered in dust and dirt. The taste was dry and gritty and bitter, but that wasn't high on her list of priorities right now.

Her vision was swinging in and out of focus, but it was always dark. Sometimes she could make out silhouettes. Other times, all she saw was black. There was a great ringing in her ears. She couldn't hear anything. She tried to feel all her fingers and toes, but her legs were completely numb.

Heart pounding rapidly against her ribcage as if desperate to be free, she prayed to God that she wasn't paralyzed. Or that she hadn't lost them completely. She prayed that Steve and Natasha were okay. She couldn't see them. She couldn't sense them. Even her sense of smell was shot. It was smoky. That was all she could gather from her nose.

Something sharp dug into her chest and prevented her from inhaling all the way. She was getting air, but not the amount she craved. That might be a blessing and a curse, seeing as the air was black with smoke.

The sharp object lifted suddenly and she could _breathe_. She spluttered and coughed and flailed. She could move her arms. They felt around frantically. She tried to lift them, but they hit a wall.

"Help," she hiccoughed, her ribs shifting with every breath. That was normal, right? "Help."

The ringing began to fade, but the only other thing she could hear was her own heartbeat. It stuttered and galloped as fast as it could, sprinting toward… she didn't know what. Her stinging hands felt along the piece of debris lying on top of her – on top of her legs. _Oh my God._ Were they broken? Her fingers tingled as she braced her palms against the debris. She tried to push, but her elbows hit the ground. She couldn't fit her forearm in the space and didn't have enough upper body strength to push without the steadiness of the ground.

The weight disappeared and colour permeated the edges of her vision. Red and orange and deep purple and navy and then Steve's shadow hovered over her. Any light that existed in this space was behind him, so she couldn't see his face. "Steve," she coughed, choking on the dust in the air.

She thought she saw his jaw move, but she only heard the distant ringing. Then it faded and she could hear something in the distance. "… stand?"

Stand? Could she stand? She looked fearfully down in the direction of her legs. They were free, at least. That was something. She tried to move her feet. Something twitched in the darkness where she imagined her foot would be. A tingle zapped up her leg to her spine and she arched uncomfortably. She'd had pins and needles before. This was that, but tenfold.

She grit her teeth and pushed herself up onto her elbows, squinting up at the sky. The _sky_. Last she had checked, she'd been _underground_. S.H.I.E.L.D. had blown up the building so thoroughly that all floors had been decimated and fallen on top of them. She wondered how on Earth they'd survived.

The ringing was fading and she was starting to hear things besides her heart. She could hear fire crackling, which explained why there was light. She could hear small rocks rolling down debris as they dislodged. She could hear movement as someone whom she assumed to be Steve shifted around. She blinked and saw somewhat clearly that Steve's silhouette was leaning over her legs. He prodded her thigh, which shot another tingle up her spine. She groaned to let him know she felt it.

"I'm okay," she croaked. She hadn't realized that she was breathing so heavily. "I can- I can walk." She sat up fully, clenching her teeth as her every limb felt shot with electricity. She grunted and got used to sitting upright, her head spinning. "N-Natasha?"

"Alive," he responded, fatigue lacing that one word more than Tania had expected. Really, it should have been expected. "But not awake. I can carry her. There's no time to assess injuries. Are you sure you can you walk?"

She nodded. "I can." With enormous effort, she dragged her legs toward her and placed them in front. "With… a little help?"

He stood up and held out a hand. She missed the first time she tried to take it, but eventually fumbled enough to grab it firmly. He hauled her to her feet and she nearly toppled over unsteadily. _Wake up!_ She told her legs. _Wake up!_

"Do you hear that?"

 _No_.

Just then, three jets soared past, their spotlights combing through the debris. When had it gotten this dark? How long had they been down there? How long had they been out?

"Come on," Steve urged, sliding his arms under Natasha. Tania grabbed one of Natasha's arms and flung it around Steve's neck. Tania's other hand was busy gripping a tall, dented beyond repair, metal pole to keep herself upright. "We have to go."

"Lead the way," she rasped, her knees knocking together.

Now that they were both standing, the light of the fires could reach their faces. She saw doubt and worry etched into his features, but she also saw determination and Captain America in his eyes and the set of his jaw. He nodded curtly, turned, and led the way.

She followed as best she could, maneuvering through a landfill of what used to be more than just a munitions holding centre. Her legs didn't seem to want to cooperate, jiggling and giving out every few steps. She kept her balance only by using the debris around her as a sort of railing. There were demolished pieces of furniture, splintered wood, drywall, and upturned cement to hold on to. Her hands were bleeding from some of the stuff she grabbed to keep steady, but if it didn't slow her down, then she wasn't going to complain. They couldn't risk detection.

Steve was silent as a mouse, but graceful he was not. He stopped and started, stumbled and readjusted, twitched and ducked. "Hide!" He barked in a loud whisper.

Tania let go of the piece of ceiling she was clinging to and let her knees buckle. She hit the ground hip first and then caught herself with her hands. She threw her hair over her face and played dead, lying as still as she possibly could. Between the strands of hair, there was a bright light. It was almost like in those movies where aliens descended from their spaceships and abducted you with gravity defying beams of bright light. Tania almost wished that were true, but only if those aliens were Asgardians. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three would be very welcome right now. Anyone would.

Just not S.H-

Hydra.

As quickly as it came, the light disappeared. She looked up, glad that she'd thought to partially hide under a giant piece of floor. She thought it might have been a floor at one point. Or maybe that was just the other side of the ceiling she'd been holding.

Her muscles screamed in agony, but she ignored them. She pushed herself back up. The feeling in her legs had somewhat returned since being upright and getting the blood rushing again, but it wasn't coming fast enough. She stood up easier than the first time and grabbed Steve's shoulder in reassurance. They were both okay – for now.

Up ahead, she could see the forest. If they made it there, they were home free. Hydra was looking for dead bodies. They wouldn't find any. With any luck, they'd be presumed dead.

They were both clumsier than usual as they stumbled through the labyrinth of debris and destruction. Hydra had caused this. Hydra was responsible. _Hydra_. Whatever had been complicated before had been uncomplicated by the fact that they now had an enemy. Just as Tony had A.I.M. Steve had had Hydra – as of right now, he still did.

Steve jumped impressively out of the last of the debris, turned and waited.

Tania couldn't make that jump. But she had to. Blowing out an annoyed breath that sent her side bangs flying, Tania shook out her legs one at a time. Some distance behind her, she could hear shifting rocks.

She could feel both legs sufficiently enough, but they tingled enough to still be asleep. She grabbed a piece of debris on either side of her and imagined that she was a slingshot about to launch something across the gap. She leaned back. Then she flung herself forward, straightening her knees in an effort to jump. It sort of worked. Her legs flailed uselessly in the air until she landed on the grass. They buckled beneath her and she came crashing down. Panicking, she turned it into a roll, but couldn't finish it and her legs flopped limply onto the dirt. Groaning, she started to army crawl for the forest.

"No, you don't," Steve whispered. "Get up, Tania. Please. We have to _run_."

Sighing, Tania knew he was right. She forced her legs under her again and pushed up. Without giving herself time to think, she sprinted. She heard Steve's footsteps behind her and then they whooshed past her. "Wait!" She begged, pushing herself harder, _faster_. "Wait for me!" She thought she heard a twig snap from behind. "On second thought, don't wait for me! Just run!"

She found herself catching up to Steve. He must have slowed down. "Did you say that last part knowing you'd get me to slow down?" He asked her, trying to make light of the situation. He was only slightly out of breath.

She tried to laugh, but she was breathing too heavily for it to really come across as laughter. "No. But I'm simultaneously…. glad you did… and not."

"I would never leave you behind," he stated firmly. "Never. If I could-"

"You are not… carrying the both of us…" she panted, chasing their elusive escape in the darkness. "Where… are we going?"

"The truck might not have been in the vicinity of the explosion, but Hydra is too close. They'd find us no matter which way we tried to circle back. It's either wait for them to leave or keep running."

"We can't run all the way back to DC!"

"Yes, I-" He cut himself off. Right. _He_ could run all the way to DC. That had probably been his plan since they woke up. But she couldn't run that far.

"Steve… I can't…" She had full feeling in her legs now, but if she slowed down even a little bit, she would drop dead. Adrenaline was keeping her going now, but it wouldn't last forever.

"I _will_ carry the both of you if I have to."

"And where are we going to go?" She shouted at him, wasting her breath and panting heavier to make up for it. It was clear from the silence that Steve didn't have an answer. "We don't have any friends in the immediate vicinity. My phone was destroyed in the explosion. The only person we can trust now is a complete stranger and hope that… that… stop." Her legs began to slow clumsily as she tried to stop. She lost control of her limbs and caught her foot on a tree root. She face planted on the ground.

"Tania!"

She spat out dirt and shoved her hair out of her face with filthy hands. She wanted a shower – right after a medical examination. "Sam. Sam Wilson's place. We can go there." She paused, trying to catch her breath. "I don't suppose you know where he lives?" She asked hopefully. Hydra should be far enough behind them that they could take a little break. Although, with exhaustion pulling so determinedly at her every muscle, she wondered if she'd be able to get back up.

"No," Steve replied, kneeling down beside her and sounding very suddenly unconcerned. She swore that she could make out a little smirk on his face. "But there is this thing called the phonebook."

They continued running. Steve apparently had some weird sense of direction and was leading her by the position the stars. She didn't know how he could see them through all the trees, but his enhanced eyesight must be something else because she could only make out the occasional twinkle.

Tania honestly didn't know how she'd managed to get herself back up and start running again. They were both sprinting and hadn't stopped. She felt like her legs were on autopilot. She felt like she could run forever because her mind didn't control her limbs anymore; they were just moving for her. The moment they stopped would be the moment she fell apart.

They burst through the trees some time later (Tania couldn't be sure how much time later) and into a little town. The streets were deserted. Steve spotted a small car parked on the road and made a break for it. Knowing that the end of this race was coming, Tania found it a million times harder to keep going. Steve could carry her the rest of the way. She could just… stop.

But she didn't. She pushed herself. _Just a little farther_. She pushed herself a little too far. She couldn't control her legs and she couldn't stop. She flailed and crashed into the side of the car, grabbing hold of the roof to keep herself from sliding down. Her legs flailed uselessly. They felt almost as numb as before.

Steve set Natasha on the hood and then set to work stealing another car. Tania clung to it for dear life, panting hard enough to have been deprived of air for the past thirty minutes. Her mouth felt so dry that her tongue was like a foreign rock of clumped sand and her teeth felt gritty and dusty. Licking her lips only made them dirtier. She couldn't close her mouth for the life of her.

Steve wrenched the driver's door open. Success! Tania felt too much like a deflated balloon to actually say anything of the sort, even if she was thinking it. She would have to let go if she wanted to get in the car. She was blocking the back door. If she let go, she might just fall unconscious on the gravel right then and there.

 _Just a little farther_.

A keening noise escaped her mouth as she pulled her feet back under her and stood on shaky legs. She stepped back, wobbling more than she wanted and more than was definitely needed. Hands still braced on the car, she shuffled over to the side so that she wasn't blocking the door anymore. She placed as much weight on her hands as possible. They seemed to be stronger than her legs right now.

Steve opened her door for her and she practically fell into the back. She lay across all of the seats and tucked her legs in so that Steve wouldn't cut them off when he closed the door. She waited until she heard the last one slam closed and then the engine start before she drifted off.

Or maybe that had all been part of her crazy, unbelievable dream.

* * *

"Tania. Tania, wake up. We're here. We're at Sam Wilson's place. We're safe. Tania. Tania, come on."

"We know you're alive, Banks."

"Thank you, Natasha. That was _so_ helpful."

"Hey, don't bark at me because your girlfriend's not waking up."

"Wait. Tania?"

"Mmm… go away."

"She's awake."

"I can see that. Tania? Darling, you have to get up now. I wish I could let you sleep more, but we need to eat, we need to shower, and we need to return this car."

"Can't… move…"

"Are you sure?"

"Don't… wanna…"

"Tania."

"Wake… wake me up… tomorrow."

"It _is_ tomorrow. Come on. Up you get."

"Eek!" Tania's eyes flew open as arms snaked underneath her and pulled her from her bed. She found herself in his arms and directly under the bright, bright sun. She snapped her eyes shut and buried her face in his chest, distantly registering that her "bed" had actually been someone's car. She sighed and slowly blinked until her eyes got used to the light.

Natasha leaned casually against the car, arms crossed and expression blank. She was dirty and bruised and tired, but other than that, she looked perfectly okay. Steve's worried face loomed over Tania. He was dirty too, but his expression wasn't blank. It was filled with worry and maybe something she interpreted as love. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah," she grumbled. _But I don't want to._ "Put me down." Her pride wouldn't let him carry her into Sam's house like a princess. She could handle this. As soon as her feet hit the ground, her knees failed and shot out from under her. Steve caught her under the arms and hauled her back up. Her legs felt like jello. She could barely feel them and when she tried to put weight on them, pain expanded like various bubbles embedded within her bones. "Might need a little help though," she admitted quietly.

"Of course." Steve threw one of her arms around his shoulders and wrapped one of his around her waist. Natasha kicked the car door closed. Together, Steve and Tania traipsed around the block and up the path to the backyard of a very normal-looking suburban house.

The superhero couple stumbled through the back door into the living room, where he set her down on a bench that also acted as a shelving unit for shoes. Tania realized with a double take that she wasn't wearing any. When had she lost her shoes? Probably while running. In the end, it hadn't been Steve's shoes that had fallen off.

Steve slipped off his huge hipster sneakers with ease and wiped at his face with the back of his sleeved arm in an attempt to look more presentable. Tania didn't even bother. She knew she must look a right mess.

Sam appeared in the doorway that looked like it led to the kitchen. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He looked like he'd hastily thrown it on five seconds ago.

"Hi," she breathed, waving a rather limp hand.

He quirked a small, concerned smile at her. "Hi again." He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, looking slightly unsure of what he was supposed to do. He didn't look lost or confused, just a little less confident than normal. "I've got three bathrooms; one for each of you. I can show you guys where they are. I, uh, don't really have any girls' clothes to lend you," he confessed, looking apologetically at Tania and Natasha. "I can throw your stuff in the washer, though."

"Thanks," said Tania genuinely. "Thanks a lot, Sam."

He shrugged. "No problem. And don't worry about apologizing. Cap's got you covered on that front."

She looked over at Steve, who shrugged in turn.

Steve helped her up again and they followed Sam as he gave them a sort of tour of the house. He took them to the master bedroom first, pointing to the bathroom across from them. This was claimed by Natasha, who locked herself in before anyone had even registered that she was no longer behind them.

Sam showed them to the bathroom down the hall from the kitchen, which Steve said he'd be fine with. He turned to Tania and said very seriously, "Do you need any help in the shower?"

Tania's face exploded in red mortification. Neither Sam nor Steve were laughing, but the thought of _needing_ someone to wash her was just… it was embarrassing. "No. No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

She was sure that she was red as a tomato. "I'm good. Just, uh. Go."

"This bathroom doesn't have a shower," Sam blurted as if just having remembered that fact. "Right. Yeah, okay, so I only have two showers. Um, I'll show you to the other one." He led them to the guest bedroom two doors down and gestured to the very… empty space. There was a bed, but that was it. There was no other furniture in the room. "That's the bathroom, so uh, knock yourselves out. Just don't… damage anything." He smiled awkwardly at them and closed the door behind him, leaving them alone together in the silence.

"I think he was insinuating something," Steve said slowly. "Do you think he was insinuating something?"

She nodded. "Definitely insinuating something."

"You know, we _could_ shower together... save more time."

She chuckled, shaking against him as he was still holding her up. "We could… but I feel like that would be rude to do that when we're guests in someone's house."

"Well... we don't have to… you know… we could just… shower."

"With a body like yours, I don't think I could handle that."

He smiled at her. "Well, then that's not your fault."

She smiled back. "Okay. You've convinced me."

They peeled off their fairly ruined clothes and dropped them in a pile in a corner of the room. They stepped into the shower together, not having anticipated how tiny it was. As it turned out, they were both way too tired to do anything except clean. While those few hours of sleep had reinvigorated her somewhat, it still wasn't enough.

She was able to stand in the shower by herself as long as she had one hand on Steve or the wall. It was less awkward than she'd anticipated. It was actually kind of comfortable, doing things like this with him. It made her look forward to all the domestic things they would do together once they were married.

Once finished, they towelled off and found clothes waiting for them on the bed. Their dirty outfits had been removed from the corner. Tania was unsure whether to be pleased that they didn't have to run around naked looking for clothes or slightly creeped out that Sam had come in while they were showering and could have seen something she'd rather he not have seen if they'd come out early.

Then again, maybe it was Natasha. She wasn't sure how she felt about that either. Ignoring her straying thoughts, Tania threw on a pair of boxers, sweat pants, and a Mets T-shirt. Oh yeah, Sam and Steve would get along just fine.

"You okay?" Steve asked, sitting down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"I feel like I just ran a marathon."

"That's because we ran several kilometers."

"Ugh. I never liked running."

"It's a good workout, though."

"You can say that again. My calves are _still_ on fire."

"They'll look good later."

"What? They don't look good now?" She missed this too. The teasing. The comfort they had with each other. The honey-moon stage of their relationship.

"They'll look _better_. How's that sound?"

"Like a lot of work."

He laughed softly, leaning back on his hands to tilt his head up toward the ceiling. "You'll live."

"Yeah. I'm sure the feeling of being burned at the stake will go away eventually. What's the rush?"

"No other injuries?" He asked, changing the subject.

She shook her head. "I'm shocked, but no. I'm okay. Somehow."

"I managed to cover all of our heads with my shield, but it wasn't an exact fit. Our legs were exposed. My shield ended up digging into your chest." So _that's_ what had constricted her lungs. "There was a particularly large piece of debris that had landed on me. I tried to hold it up, but I- it slid down off the shield and landed on your legs. I'm just glad they didn't break them."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Natasha woke up on the way here. She said that she has no severe injuries to speak of. She's just really tired. And worried about Clint."

Tania blanched. Oh no. _Clint_. He was on that deep undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. mission with Viola. Viola could be Hydra. _Anyone_ could be Hydra. If Pierce decided that all of the Avengers were threats, then Clint… he could be in danger.

Seeing Tania's expression, Steve rushed to reassure her. He slipped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Clint can take care of himself. He's the world's best marksman and a master assassin. He's also a phenomenal combatant and projectile weapons expert."

"Are those big and fancy words supposed to make me feel better?"

"Clint can take care of himself," Steve repeated.

"Natasha's worried," Tania pointed out. "I feel like if the Black Widow is worrying about something, it's something worth worrying about."

"Well, Captain America says not to worry. If you can't trust him, who can you trust?" There was that word again. Trust. If Tania had to list off all of the people she could trust, it would extend as far as the Avengers (that included Jane, Betty, Pepper, Rhodey, Peter, and of course Graham). That was a lot of people. Tania didn't know Jane very well, nor did she know a lot about Rhodey. She'd just trusted them because Thor and Tony had trusted them. That had been enough.

At the time.

Was it enough now?

"Steve," she whispered, afraid that Natasha might overhear. "Who do you trust?"

Steve took a while to answer, concentrating hard on the white walls of the bedroom. "You," he said at last. "And anyone who proves themselves to me."

"Would you trust Sharon?" The question came out of nowhere.

"Who's Sharon?"

"I mean Kate."

"Oh." He paused, thinking it over. "I'm not sure. She could be Hydra. And I will never forget what Hydra has done." His voice was stone cold. "And she hasn't done anything to get me to trust her as Sharon. Only as Kate." It was clear that Steve felt betrayed. Sharon had become a nice neighbour, almost-friend in the time they'd been in Washington. Then it was revealed that she was spying on them for S.H.I.E.L.D. which may very well be Hydra

"She told me that she didn't want to," Tania said to him. "I talked to her when we saw her outside of Pierce's office. I asked her if she approved of spying on us and the method and she said no. And Natasha trusts her. Well, she likes her, at any rate."

"Are you trying to convince me to trust her?"

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"You like her."

It was Tania's turn to look up at the very bland ceiling. "I think so. I don't know. There's something about her. I think she's trustworthy. But is it worth it if I'm wrong?"

"To gain a new ally?"

"Or a stab in the back."

A beat of silence followed this exchange of words. "I guess we'll find out."

 **A/N. I almost ended this chapter in a cliff-hanger as well... but then I decided against tortunring you guys xP _This_ time...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N. Hey, guys. Sorry that took so long. School took over my life. At least I didn't end the last chapter with a cliffhanger, eh? Anyway, hope you enjoy! :D**

 **Chapter Eleven**

In the master bedroom, Natasha was sitting on a beanbag chair with her legs crossed and a phone pressed to her ear. It was a severely cracked Stark Phone. She held it firmly to the side of her head and stared across the room. There was something unnerving about the way she sat there. She was extremely still and her breathing was even, but her eyes were wide and her mouth was parted just slightly.

She was off-kilter. She'd just been thrown for a loop and she didn't know how to right herself. When something like this happened, there was only one thing she could do – one person she could talk to.

Clint.

He was in Sharzhad, she knew. But she needed him and he always had the comms unit Stark had installed in his ear the year before. When the phone stopped ringing, Natasha set it down slowly. Comms it is. "Secure Line Four," she ordered JARVIS softly.

" _Line Four is secure_ ," replied the A.I.

"Clint?" She waited. If Clint was with people, he wouldn't be able to answer her right away.

" _Yeah_?" Came the hushed whisper.

It was so good to hear his voice. Good didn't even begin to describe it. Her shoulders sagged with relief and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "Clint," she said again, full of emotion.

That must have sent up red flags because Clint wasn't whispering anymore when next he spoke. " _Tasha? What's going on?_ "

"Clint, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised."

Radio silence. " _Nat, what are you talking about?_ "

"Hydra. It's back. We thought we destroyed it when they kidnapped Tania and Steve. We thought those were the last of them. They weren't. It wasn't even the beginning." She pressed the heels of her palms deep into her eye sockets. "Hydra-"

" _Shit_ ," breathed Clint.

Natasha sighed. "I know. Clint, you have to get out of there."

...

"Clint?"

" _Line Four is no longer secure,_ " JARVIS announced in her ear. "I am sorry."

Natasha's heart squeezed painfully in her chest. No. Not Clint. Anyone but Clint. "Barton?" She called. "Hawk!"

" _Line Four is no longer secure_."

* * *

"Shit!" Clint dove for cover behind a neatly stacked wall of crates. The squeaking of wheels rolled past. He squatted and listened, sweat dripping down his forehead and along the back of his neck. The squeaks gradually faded and disappeared around the corner of the next building over, bumping on an endless amount of rocks as it did so. Clint blew out a breath of hot air and turned on his heel, spinning to a standing position. He started walking in the other direction. "Natasha?" He hissed under his breath.

 _"Line Four is no longer secure,"_ JARVIS rattled off in Clint's ear.

"What do you mean by 'not secure'?" He picked up the pace, resisting the urge to wipe the perspiration from his fake eyebrows.

 _"The line has been intercepted. Someone is listening."_

Fuck it all. Clint broke into a sprint. "Is our cover blown?"

 _"Not that I am aware."_

"Is Line Two secure?"

 _"Yes. Shall I patch you through?"_

"Do it." Clint burst through the doors of an old storage unit and ducked behind several boxes piled high enough to hide behind. It was only a couple of degrees cooler in there, but at least the sun couldn't burn off his hair.

 _"Clint?"_ Stevenson sounded wary, like she was ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Viola," he breathed, unsure if he should be relieved or pissed. For all he knew, she could be Hydra, but his instincts were telling him that that wasn't the case. Innocent until proven guilty, right? "Where are you?"

 _"In our room. Why?"_

"Wait for me there. I'm on my way."

 _"But you have a meeting with Dagan Shah in-"_

"I know!" He snapped as quietly as he could. "Change of plans." Coast was clear. He spun out from behind the weapons and continued running. The humidity made it felt like he was running through melted butter. He pushed himself to go faster. Their cover might not have been blown yet. They might still have time.

 _"What's wrong?"_ She sounded worried now. _"Are you in danger?"_

"Not yet," he replied honestly. "But I've got reason to believe that it's imminent."

 _"Enlighten me."_

"I'll tell you when I get there."

 _"Either you're really stubborn or the comms have been compromised, in which case, why are we still using them?"_

"It's not our comms. One of the supposedly secure channels was hacked and now I can't call my friends." "Friends" translating roughly to "Avengers" and/or "back-up". "We might be on our own for this one."

 _"I know you don't usually have an extraction team, but I do. When I work solo, anyway. Is Line One secure?"_

 _"Affirmative,"_ JARVIS answered for both of them.

Clint took the wooden stairs three at a time. "Not sure that's such a good thing."

 _"What do you mean? They're our back-up."_

"Would you shut up already? I'm coming to you. Wait, like, forty-five seconds."

 _"Fine_ ," she huffed.

He threw himself under a hole in the brick wall of a building and found himself in darkness. There was a winding staircase that would take him where he needed to go. He reached up, grabbed onto the above railing and hefted himself over it, flipping his body in a tightly controlled circle before landing on his feet. He wanted to kick the door open (he was in that kind of mood), but this was one of those times where attention was a bad thing. He opened it like a rational human being (which was absolutely no fun) and closed it without slamming it.

Viola stopped her pacing and approached him. She was wearing the traditional clothing, but the hood was pulled down and her black hair flowed down her shoulders, allowing her real identity to show. Her mouth was pulled down slightly at the corners. "I've cleared the place for bugs. There's nothing. Talk."

Clint wasted no time. "I just got a call from Romanoff. She said two things. One: SHIELD's compromised. Two: Hydra's back from the dead."

Viola's eyes were so wide that Clint thought he saw more white than brown. "That-! That's not-!"

"The Black Widow just called me to warn us and I believe her." Natasha had sounded… disturbed. He only ever heard her sound like that twice. It was a sound he'd hoped never to have to hear again. "We can't trust SHIELD."

"Well then who _can_ we trust?" Viola demanded of the ceiling, throwing up her arms and turning back to her pacing.

"Can I trust you?" He asked her quietly.

She stopped, facing away from him. "I could ask you the same question."

They stood like that, trapped in a stalemate, as the seconds ticked by. If Clint didn't show up for his meeting in a few minutes, someone would be coming to investigate.

"If Hydra's taken SHIELD, we're going to need as many allies as we can get," Viola said slowly. "If we ever want to get out of this place, we're going to need help." She paused. "Can we have an alliance?"

"This isn't the Hunger Games."

She snorted. "I don't know. You've got the bow for it, Katniss."

"Hey. Only Stark gets to call me random nicknames."

"Clint." She turned to face him, hands empty. He knew that she had to have at least five weapons on her person, but she didn't reach for any of them. "I know you were a SHIELD agent first, but I think you're an Avenger last and to me that's more important." She sucked in a deep breath. "I trust you."

Logically, Clint should probably just run. But she was right. He could use all the help he could get. They were stuck deep undercover in the throes of crime empires in the Middle East, working for one of the biggest arms dealers out there. They couldn't afford to blow their covers, not now that an extraction was most definitely _not_ imminent.

In the four months he'd spent in Sharzhad, Viola had been the only thing capable of making him smile (excluding the occasional contact with his family). They'd become comfortable with each other and Clint was surprised to find that he really did trust her. This new information, though… it threw a wrench in things.

"Your dad was SHIELD too, right?" He asked carefully.

Her eyes narrowed and her hands met her hips. "Yeah," she replied stiffly.

"Was he-?"

" _Don't_ … finish that sentence." Her voice was deeper and she looked menacingly at him. "My dad was a hero. He wanted to help people. SHIELD came to him and recruited him because he stopped a crime out of the goodness of his heart. He wasn't Hydra." She sounded certain enough to have chiseled that statement into stone.

"And you? How were you recruited?"

"I needed money," she said bluntly. "They approached me a few times, but I was determined to be- well." She looked away. "I was determined not to need adrenaline in my life. I didn't want to live my life on thrills and- But then I was drowning in student debt and my roommate moved away and I couldn't find a good enough job- SHIELD pays well, okay? I accepted the offer out of desperation. I didn't want to be a SHIELD agent. I have a B.A. in _mythology_. That's about as mundane a degree as you can get."

Clint mulled this over, turning it around and around in his mind. "I think there's a simple way to settle this." It didn't occur to him earlier because he'd never used that particular function. "JARVIS? Is she telling the truth?"

 _"Yes, Sir. Sensors indicate that Agent Stevenson is indeed being honest."_

"Are you Hydra?" Better to just get it over with.

Viola's stance didn't change. "No," she said without hesitation.

"JARVIS?"

" _She is still telling the truth."_

Clint's shoulders relaxed a little. "Works for me."

"And you? Are you Hydra?"

"No."

" _Agent Barton is also telling the truth."_

Viola's expression softened and she dropped her arms. "Glad to know I have an ally in this situation."

"Glad to know I have a friend," Clint returned.

Viola smiled at him.

* * *

 _Knock-knock-knock._

Natasha jumped, uncrossing her legs and reaching for her gun in one swift movement.

"Can I come in?" It was just Sam.

"Yes," she responded coolly, sliding her mask back down and her gun back into its holster. She didn't trust this guy. Steve and Tania both seemed to like him, but neither really knew him. Natasha would make her own judgement.

The door opened and Sam leaned in the doorway. "I made breakfast," he announced casually. "According to Cap and Sonata, you people _do_ eat that sort of thing."

"Of course." Natasha stood up confidently and walked out the door, brushing gently past Sam and making for the kitchen. She was shaken up inside, but she wouldn't let this guy see that. On the way there, she ran into Steve and Tania, who could apparently both see right through her.

When did she start letting people see the real her? When did she start letting people see her emotions? This was scaring her. It was scaring her almost as much as the fact that she'd actually been working for a Nazi organization this whole time.

All those missions she completed. All those people she put away or killed. The people she _saved_. Who were they? Good guys? Bad guys? Innocents? Criminals? What has SHIELD- _Hydra_ been making her do all these years?

Could she have just been lengthening, reddening, staining her ledger even further this entire time? When all she'd wanted was a shot at redemption? She was supposed to be an agent, not a cold-blooded assassin. She was supposed to be an Avenger, not a Nazi supporter. She was supposed to be a… a hero.

Or try to be.

But that was never what she was. She thought she had a second chance. She thought she could… lessen the weight of her guilt. Of the names on her list. Of their deaths on her shoulders.

She was wrong.

A hand on her arm pulled her from her daze. Steve gently tugged her aside and encouraged Tania to go on ahead. Natasha felt… heavier than she had since meeting Clint. Her feet were like lead and her head felt like a balloon. Her balance was fleeting, but Steve was steadying and he grounded her.

"What's going on?" He asked when Sam and Tania had continued on without them into the kitchen. He was quiet and sincere and suddenly she _knew_. He was a friend. A real one. One of the best. One she could trust – with everything.

"When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight," she confessed, remembering the looks of hatred and fear and jealousy in the eyes of the other agents. She remembered Fury's penetrating glares and Coulson's heavy disapproval. But that's what made SHIELD different than the Red Room. "But I guess I just traded in the KGB for Hydra." It wasn't that different after all.

Steve said nothing, listening intently and waiting patiently.

She looked down. "I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but..." She looked up and tried to quirk something akin to a smile. "I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."

* * *

Tania watched her two friends console each other in whispers, having a heart-to-heart not unlike the one she and Steve had just had. It was really rewarding to watch Natasha blossom as an Avenger – as a person. Watching her learn to trust and to, dare she say, _love_. It made Tania feel all warm and gooey inside; like melted chocolate. Dark was Natasha's favourite.

The scrape of a chair on tiled floor made her turn back to the table, untwisting her spine to face Sam, who sat across the too-tiny table from her. He smiled lopsidedly and she grinned back, rubbing her calves together under the table. They were still sore.

"Should we wait?" Sam asked, peeking into the hallway where Steve and Natasha were having their hushed and serious conversation.

Tania shrugged. "We don't have to. But it's your house. Your rules."

He smiled. "Then I say, first come first serve."

Tania chuckled and stabbed her stack of pancakes with her fork. Dragging her bare feet across the floor, she stuffed the first bite of food into her mouth. She hummed appreciatively. "Not bad. I've had better," she teased, swallowing the fluffiness of a cloud.

"Yeah?" Sam prompted, eyebrows raised playfully. "Whose?"

"Hawkeye's of course."

As if drawn to the mere mention of Clint's name, Natasha materialized to Tania's right and sat down, looking steadier than she had a few minutes ago. In fact, she looked as she always did – unaffected by anything. Steve sat on the left, pulling his chair in and scraping it like Sam had done. "What are we talking about?"

"Clint's cooking," Tania replied, mouth full. She'd always had a problem with talking with food in her mouth, but to be perfectly honest, everyone else did it too, so she was totally justified. "And how it's better than Sam's."

Steve and Natasha both murmured their agreement.

Taking mock offense, Sam held a hand to his chest. "You guys haven't even tried it yet! How dare you?"

Obligingly, Steve and Natasha dug in, nodding at the first bite. "This is really good," said Natasha truthfully, wiping some syrup from the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "Not the way _I_ like them, but…"

"Y'all can shut up anytime now," Sam said playfully, forking more food into his mouth for dramatic effect.

When plates were licked clean and forks had all clanked onto dishes, the group turned serious. By this time, everyone's hair had dried from their showers and everyone felt mostly recovered enough to take on whatever the day had in store.

"So the question is: who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha flipped her hair (seriously, how is that perfect without styling it at all?) and leaned forward on the back of her chair.

Sam, who was cleaning out the glasses they'd used to drink orange juice, looked over at Steve and Tania, who knew more about the organization than he did. He seemed to be doing the dishes as if he needed to feel productive.

"Pierce," breathed Steve with dawning realization.

Of course.

Tania sighed as Natasha stood and began to pace. "Who just so happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"Except the Tower," Tania mumbled. She wanted to contribute, but honestly she didn't know what to say. She was with Sam, in that respect.

"He's not working alone," Steve stated, staring off into the distance and rubbing his fingers together in thought. "Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

The what now?

Natasha's eyes widened and she straightened her head from its tilted position. "So was Jasper Sitwell."

Sitwell? Tania knew that name. SHIELD agent. Friend of Coulson's. Present during the Helicarrier attack. Maybe during the New Mexico thing? She couldn't remember. What did he have to do with anything?

Steve seemed to have just understood something, if his bobbing head was anything to go by. "So the real question is: how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"Okay, I'm lost," blurted Tania as Sam left the room. "Why are we kidnapping Sitwell?"

"Because he's Hydra," Natasha answered, shaking her head with either disgust or regret or… Okay. Tania didn't really know what with. "He was on a boat that Steve and I rescued the other day from pirates."

Tania's eyebrows lifted.

"Not those kind of pirates."

"O... kay… and how are we going to do this?"

"You're not," answered Sam as he returned to the room carrying a manila folder. He dropped it on the table in front of her and Steve.

"What's this?" Steve asked, standing and reaching for the file. Tania stood as well and leaned in closer to peer over his shoulder for a better look. Natasha looked over Steve's other shoulder.

"Call it a resume," Sam responded, leaning back against the counter.

Natasha plucked a piece of paper from the folder. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission. That was you?" She looked at him for confirmation.

He lifted his chin slightly.

"You didn't say he was a para-rescue." She handed the paper to Steve, who tilted it so that Tania could see.

It was a photo of Sam and some other soldiers, a few of which were wearing odd equipment. It looked kind of like a jetpack, if Tania had to guess.

"Is this Riley?" Asked Steve quietly.

"Yeah," Sam replied.

Tania looked again. She was looking at a dead man – one who'd been a good friend to the man in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said. It was pointless, but she felt the need to say it again.

"It's okay."

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs." Natasha continued pouring over the papers in Sam's file, now very interested. "What did you use? A stealth chute?"

What was a stealth chute?

"No." Sam moved closer and picked up a folder within the folder. He handed it to Steve. "These."

Steve opened the cover to reveal more photos. Tania whistled. Sam and Riley weren't wearing jetpacks, though her guess had been pretty close. They were wearing mechanical wings that stretched what looked like at least four feet each way. "That's so cool," she breathed. It was like the Iron Man suit, but without the armour part. Well, not really. Just the flying part was the same. _Still_.

Graham would absolutely love it. He'd think it was the most awesome thing and beg to take it for a spin. She smiled at the thought. He was such a child.

"I thought you said you were a pilot," Steve said, looking at Sam with an amused expression.

Sam chuckled and shook his head. "I never said pilot."

Huh.

Steve looked back down at the file, contemplating something. His smile faded. Uh oh. She knew that look. "I can't ask you to do this, Sam," he said, closing the file.

She hit him in the arm. It was the three of them against all of SHIELD/Hydra. They needed all the help they could get.

Steve pretended not to have felt it. "You got out for a good reason."

"Dude. Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in." Sam seemed determined to help them. Thank God for good people in this world.

Steve seemed to think that was an acceptable answer, because he asked: "Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall." Sam held back any reaction of his own, but he was studying theirs rather acutely.

Well then.

Both Tania and Steve immediately looked to Natasha, who shrugged like it should be a piece of cake. Steve turned back to Sam. "Shouldn't be a problem."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N. Hello! Wow, it's been a while. I think procrastination has seeped into my daily life from my school work and now I'm just too lazy to do** ** _anything_** **. I apologize for the wait. I have reasons, but none of them are good enough. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

 **Chapter Twelve**

Sam had a car, so they didn't have to steal another one, luckily. It was a bit beat up (and kind of an ugly colour, but no one asked Tania) and it would do for the mission they had in mind. It was just transportation, after all.

Fort Meade was located in Maryland, which was was about an hour from their location, give or take ten minutes. Using the GPS on Sam's phone, the four of them piled into the car equipped with only the weapons they'd had on their person for the past several hours. Except Sam. Natasha was loaning him a dart gun.

"Remember," Steve was saying from the backseat, because that's where all the best motivational speeches are made, "these are the good guys. We are breaking the law and we are infiltrating a facility of the American government. Do not engage if at all possible. If impossible, _do not kill_." He coughed. "Natasha."

Twisting around the passenger seat - she called shotgun very enthusiastically before everybody else - Natasha mock-glared at him. "I'm trying to _clean_ my ledger, not saturate it more, Rogers. You don't have to worry about me." She turned to face front, but held up her left hand, a Widow's Bite held between each of her fingers. "Non-lethal and relatively quiet. I'm good."

"I'm sure you'll be at the top of Santa's 'nice' list," Sam teased, going with the flow and making a smooth turn at a green light.

Natasha punched his bicep.

"OW! That was a sarcastic compliment!"

"I hit you for the sarcasm."

"Guys," interrupted Tania, amused but trying to remain focused. Sam would fit right in with the Avengers. At least, that's what she was hoping.

Natasha crossed her arms and looked out the side window, but everyone knew she was listening intently. There was no way she would ignore such vital information about a mission.

Steve nodded at his girlfriend in thanks. "We need to be in an out as fast as we can. We split into two groups. Sam, you and Natasha will go in first. Natasha will steal clearance off of one of the guards and get you in. Tania and I will follow two minutes after, making sure you aren't discovered. We'll rendez-vous when we reach the meeting point. Tania and I will then make our way back the way we came, clearing the way for Sam and Natasha to walk out of the Fort carrying military property."

"I'll steal a backpack off someone to store it in," offered Natasha casually without turning to face them.

"It'll need to be big," said Sam, eyes flicking to his rearview mirror.

"I got it. And Steve, your shield-"

"I know," he sighed. "This is not the kind of mission for it." It would draw too much attention, whether red, white, and blue or just blue, the shield was too conspicuous. Hydra would know exactly where he'd been, though maybe not why.

Tania patted his knee. "It's alright, dear. Your shield is mostly for combat anyway. We're going for stealth."

"When we get out of there, we meet back at the car, which will be parked a couple of blocks away, and then we find Sitwell."

"I can use Clint's password to search through the SHIELD database," Natasha volunteered. "His name shouldn't send up any red flags. He's not a fugitive. He's got level seven clearance. I should be able to find Sitwell's schedule that way."

"We should call Tony," Tania suggested. "He should be able to hack it no problem without drawing unnecessary attention to Clint."

"According to his answering machine, he's busy taking down A.I.M." Natasha waved her phone into view as if in demonstration. "Something happened and Tony needed the armour, which is never a good sign. They have their own stuff to deal with. We can handle this. Besides, none of our Avenger friends are any good at stealth anyway."

"I guess…" She would feel better having the whole team behind her, but she supposed that Natasha was right. This wasn't a big enough operation. Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man couldn't do much at the moment. Maybe later, but not now.

The beaten grey car slid to a halt in the parking lot of a bus station, where parking was free and likely unmonitored. They said their good-byes in the car, wearing the clothes Sam had bought for them on the way there from the mall (a different one than last time). Disguised as tourists, Steve and Tania wandered around with their noses stuck in the same unnecessarily large map, whispering to each other and pretending to be lost, when really they were slowly progressing toward Fort Meade, which they would "stumble" upon and decide to check out.

Upon hearing the successful crackle of Natasha's, _"We're in,"_ Tania set a timer on her digital watch for two minutes. To pass the time, they assumed their favourite cover: that one couple that makes out absolutely everywhere. As Natasha said, PDA tended to make people uncomfortable (those who weren't engaging in the actual PDA, that is).

When it was their turn, the superhero couple followed Sam and Natasha's lead and bypassed the guards, tip-toeing down hallway after hallway. To this day, Tania still didn't know how someone as heavy as Steve could be so light on his feet. They ran into a couple of guards, but they were easily taken down quickly and silently with whacks to the head. Since Natasha had gone in first, she'd used her Widow Bites to disable the security cameras. They didn't have to worry about being watched, just seen.

As Romanoff claimed there wouldn't be earlier, there wasn't a single problem that couldn't be fixed. After making their way past the three guarded gates that Sam and Natasha had easily bypassed on their own, Steve and Tania met up with them in front of a heavily armoured door, which looked untouched, yet Sam had a huge backpack around his shoulders that sagged with the unmistakable weight of a giant pair of falcon wings.

No words were exchanged, only nods and confirmation of smoothness of the mission so far. Steve and Tania turned around and began to make their way back the way they had come, Sam and Natasha remaining a respectful distance behind in case of an ambush. They passed the knocked out guards, on whom Natasha planted one Widow's Bite each. When they were out of sight, she activated them, waking the guards abruptly.

With each of the three gates they sneaked through, they closed it behind them as if it had never been opened. All of them wore gloves, so there were no fingerprints. The U.S. government would be hard—pressed to find any trace that they had ever been here. Tania hoped, anyway.

She and Steve emerged first, still dressed as tourists, and slipped into the crowd like a drop of water into a lake. They resumed their previous tactic of pretending to be lost while staring at a map, this time upside down to heighten the facade. They even stopped to ask a family of three for directions. About a half hour later, they found Sam's car and waited patiently for their friends, seeing as Sam had the keys. When he arrived, his smile was blinding.

"You guys are in for a treat," he told them with a laugh, unlocking the car. Everyone piled in, removing accessories and wigs and disguises.

"You mean we get to watch you fly around for a bit," Tania corrected, fluffing up her hair and trying to catch her reflection in the rearview mirror.

Sam buckled his seatbelt and stuck the key in the ignition. "Something like that."

It was another hour drive back, during which the four of them alternated between planning out Sitwell's kidnap and bantering like nobody's business. Sometimes there was a hazy middle, where they talked about nothing in light tones of voice, laughing and trying to get their minds off of the mission they were about to embark upon - and its unknown consequences.

Natasha wasn't able to locate Sitwell, but she managed to find his phone number, reserved for SHIELD agents only. She then downloaded an app to make the person you called get the wrong caller I.D. so that when one of them called, Sitwell would think that Alexander Pierce was phoning him.

According to the database, Sitwell was currently in a meeting with Senator Stern concerning some government and political stuff that Tania didn't understand. It didn't say where he was, but because it listed his number, Natasha was able to track him down via GPS. He was downtown at the Hotel Fritz. _That's an odd place for a meeting_ , Tania thought. _Then again, if he's Hydra, maybe it's not a meeting at all._

Now with the knowledge of Sitwell's location, Sam made a U-turn and rerouted the car to head downtown. The four of them went over the game plan one last time. It was relatively simple, so they got right to it. About a ten minute drive from the hotel, Sam dropped off Steve and Natasha at an apartment building. Steve kissed Tania good-bye and she wished him luck. She and Sam pulled away and headed for the hotel.

They made a pit-stop to pick up a laser pointer from Staples. When they arrived, they parked at a restaurant across the street from the hotel and parted ways. Sam walked into the restaurant alone while Tania entered the two story grocery store next door. While she and Steve really did need groceries, she had a feeling that they wouldn't be going home for the next little while. Probably not until the whole Hydra thing blew over. She sighed and grabbed a basket anyway. It wouldn't do to look suspicious. She made her way to the second floor, meandering by the windows and pretending to inspect the produce.

Finally, Sam's phone vibrated in her pocket. Since Sam was using Natasha's phone to pretend to be Pierce, she had been given Sam's in order to keep in touch. Hers had been destroyed in the explosion and she couldn't afford to get a new one just to have Hydra track her down. She reached into her jacket and pulled it out, swiping the screen to unlock it.

 _You see him?_

She wandered over to the window and looked down. Across the street, a group of men in fancy suits ( _must be security detail_ ) had emerged from the hotel and were standing in position. They surrounded a bald man with glasses that had to be Sitwell and an older man who was probably the one who needed all the protection, aka Senator Stern. Crap. This plan wouldn't work if Sitwell stuck with those bodyguards.

 _I see him_ , she texted back, reaching into her purse for the laser pointer. The cashier had assured her that it was very powerful and could travel long distances. She wasn't that far. Hopefully it would do.

She returned the apple she'd been glaring at to the shelf and resumed her watch of Sitwell and his… friend. Was this SHIELD stuff or Hydra stuff? Who was good and who was bad? How was it possible to tell?

Stern and Sitwell hugged before the senator ducked into a fancy car, a couple of the security detail waiting behind with Sitwell. It occurred to Tania that those bodyguards might be SHIELD agents. Finally, the two of them loaded into the car and it drove away. Perfect.

She watched as Sitwell reached into his suit jacket for his phone. He answered. She began to mentally count as she reached for the lock on the window and slid it open. She could only hope no alarms would go off.

None did. This was a grocery store. Thank heavens for that. Though she may be on the security cameras, she was still in disguise, so that was something. She only kept the window open a crack, enough to stick the pointer through. When she reached thirty, she switched it on and pointed, aiming at Sitwell's chest. Her aim was fairly steady, but that might be because the device was lodged between the window and the wall.

She wasn't so far away as to be unable to see his expression as he looked down and then back up again, searching for her. From the almost frantic way he turned his head, she concluded that he hadn't found her. He nodded his head jerkily and snapped the phone shut, slipping it back into his pocket and storming towards Sam's car.

Tania yanked the pointer out and dropped it in her purse before slamming the window shut. She winced at the noise and hurriedly made her way downstairs, to the cashes. She found the shortest line and waited anxiously to get outside. There really was no reason to hurry, but she wanted this mission to be over and done with. She didn't want to keep Sam waiting.

She was done within five minutes and speed-walked to the grey car two spaces down from the restaurant's main entrance. She yanked open the passenger seat and slid in, sighing. She pulled the door shut and dropped her bags of food onto the floor of the car. "Sorry it took me so long. Had to maintain my cover."

Sam lifted his fingers and pushed out his lips as if to say, 'not a problem'.

"Thanks for the cash, by the way. I needed all of it to buy this stuff." She held up one of the bags with one hand and slid her sunglasses onto her head with the other.

"It's you!" Sitwell gasped from the back, leaning forward between the driver and passenger seats.

Sam twisted and placed his palm on Sitwell's face before shoving him backward. "You stay back there or that tie isn't the only thing that's going to get messed up," he threatened.

Tania turned to get a better look at Sitwell. He was fairly ordinary and easily a man she could overlook in a crowd. He was bald and and had glasses and eyes that hid behind them. He had a round head and chubby fingers. He wore a suit, but it was slightly disheveled from the seatbelt he was wearing. He was breathing rapidly and staring, wide-eyed at her.

Overall, he was pretty unimpressive.

She turned back to the windshield, buckling her seatbelt. "Let's go. Come on. They're waiting for us."

"Who? Who's waiting for us?" Sitwell asked. Tania could hear the quiver and panic in his voice.

"A couple of friends. I think you'll recognize them."

There was in intake of breath behind them as Sam started the car.

They pulled up to an apartment building about ten minutes from the Hotel Fritz. Tania slid her disguise back into place and stepped out of the car, shoving the door closed. She opened the back door, where Sitwell had yet to take off his seatbelt. She leaned down to be on his level. "Come on. There's some people who really want to see you." Another red dot appeared, slithering around the floor of the car. Sitwell jerked away, kicking Sam's seat in the process.

"That's it, get out!" Sam barked.

Sitwell fumbled with the buckle and then practically flew out of the car. Tania tried not to chuckle as she pushed the door closed. Natasha must've gotten her hands on a laser pointer too. Tania waved to Sam, who merged into traffic to find a secluded place for the next part of the plan.

She grabbed Sitwell's arm as if he were escorting her to a ball and led him into the lobby. They followed a resident into the elevator in complete silence. Tania was apprehensive. He was a level six SHIELD agent and possibly Hydra. Could he take her down?

The elevator ground to a halt and the one resident exited, his own grocery bags swinging beside him as the doors closed again.

They were alone.

Not a word was spoken as they kept going higher. She noticed that Sitwell was sweating and constantly wiping his scalp with the palm of his hand. She could practically see his glasses bouncing off his nose. Maybe he was one of those rare agents who was high up but couldn't fight. Or maybe he was scared of her.

Her gut clenched. _Scared of ME._ She never wanted someone to feel like that - afraid that she would hurt them, kill them, do something to them she would regret later. Fear was carnal and it was instinctual. If he feared her, did that mean she was someone who _should_ be feared?

Before her thoughts could dive into a downward spiral, the doors opened again. The highest floor. She jerked her head. Sitwell went first, spine straight but shoulders curved. She followed, trying vehemently not to go into that self-deprecating tailspin she tended to get herself into now and again. It was hard not to harp on herself for all of the things she'd done. But that was why she had Dr. Diallo. And Steve, of course. But now was _really_ not the time for depression or whatever her problem was to sink its teeth into her.

"In there." She pointed at a door down the hall.

Sitwell hesitated, then pushed the door open. It was just an empty staircase. Before the door could swing shut, she slid inside. The sound of the door closing reverberated up and down the entire building, ringing in her ears.

"If you try anything," Sitwell said, speaking for the first time since the car, "SHIELD will want you now more than ever."

"We're already trying something and they already want us. As far as threats go, that's pretty lame. Up you go." She gave him a gentle push toward the stairs, but he acted as if he'd been thrown up against the wall. He stumbled into the first step and then he ran. He bolted up the stairs, the pounding of his feet a staccato rhythm that danced in her eardrums.

She took off after him, using the railing on her left to launch herself forward. She reached the top, where he was banging on the door and jiggling the handle as if that would help open a locked door.

Oh God, her calves weren't happy with her right now. Breathing slightly erratic, she hobbled over to him and physically removed his hands from the door. She knocked to the tune of the song she sang to the Hulk to get him to sleep until the lock clicked and the door swung open. Steve was there and as soon as he caught sight of Sitwell, he narrowed his eyes.

Sitwell was literally thrown onto the roof, his back colliding with the ground as he rolled with the momentum, dirtying his suit and reputation. Tania stepped through the door, calves burning, stomach squeezing, lungs aching. She gently shut the door, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

She didn't want to do this. This was wrong. This was kidnapping and threatening and manhandling. It was violent and fear-inducing. Those were all things that sounded like something a villain would do.

Sitwell rolled to his feet, picking up the glasses that had fallen off. Steve and Natasha chased him, walking purposefully toward him like walls closing in on you. Tania could sense his fear as if it was coming off him in waves.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve demanded.

 _This is for Nick_ , Tania reminded herself.

Sitwell kept walking backward, his strides as long as he could make them. He quickly shoved his glasses onto his nose. "Never heard of it," he panted.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve pushed, still stalking forward. He was like a predator.

 _Stop,_ she told herself. _We're doing this for Nick. For SHIELD. For Peggy and Howard and Colonel Phillips. What choice do we have?_

"I was throwing up. I get seasick," replied Sitwell, standing straighter. That sounded like the truth. Just not all of it.

She watched as they approached the edge of the roof. _This is all part of the plan._ So why was her heart racing? She pulled out Sam's phone and typed out a text as fast as she could.

 _You in position?_

Someone gasped and Tania's head shot up. Sitwell's heels had hit the end of the line and he began to topple over, but Steve grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him forward, precariously balanced on the edge.

The wind blew gently.

Sitwell began to laugh. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're going to throw me off the roof?" He was grasping at straws for some sort of reassurance, Tania could tell. She was gripping the phone tightly, but it kept slipping due to the sweat from her palms. "Cause it's really not your style, Rogers."

 _He's right_ , a voice in her head piped up. _This isn't us. All of it. How could we do this?_

"You're right," said Steve, un-prying his fingers from Sitwell's shirt. He began smoothing out the wrinkles at his shoulders. "It's not."

The phone in Tania's hand vibrated. _In position._

"It's hers."

Tania looked up just in time to see Steve step back and Natasha step forward. She swung her other leg forward and slammed it into Sitwell's stomach, sending him careening over the edge. Tania surged forward, running to join the other Avengers. As she peered over the ledge, she heard Nat and Steve chatting amicably while Sitwell fell to his death.

Ignoring them, she searched frantically for the falling, screaming figure. She found him directly below, flailing and twisting and turning and crying for help. Her heart felt like it was being wrung out like a dish towel. She knew how it felt to be in his position. How it felt to get pushed off a building for the first time. To watch as the ground raced to kill you.

The world began to tilt and she turned away, unable to look anymore, even though she knew what was about to happen. She felt sick. They'd done to someone what had been done to her. What were they turning into?

Someone knelt down next to her. "Tania?" Steve's presence was always calming, but not today. Not right now. Not when he'd just let someone get pushed off a building. She'd agreed to it too. Then, it had seemed reasonable. Now? Now she wanted to go back and suggest interrogating him over tea and cookies.

Jasper's scream started getting louder and louder until something soared up past them, a breeze gusting through their hair. She turned and saw the Falcon lift Sitwell higher, the wings silhouetted by the sun. Sam flew forward and dropped his cargo roughly onto the roof, swinging his own legs down to land smoothly several meters away. The metal wings contracted and folded into the backpack from before, glowing and moving in a way that reminded Tania of the Iron Man armour.

Natasha made her way over to Sitwell. Steve stayed behind to help Tania to her feet. "You okay?" He asked.

"Fine," she answered.

"You look pale."

"We can talk about this later." She pulled away from him and jogged over to join Natasha as Sitwell spewed information like a sprinkler.

"… it's a program…" He was saying, panting hard between words. "… for choosing… Insight's targets…"

"What targets?" Steve asked, coming up behind Tania to stand on her right.

"You," Jasper heaved, waving one arm while on his hands and knees as if he could show the targets on a PowerPoint. "The DVA in Cairo, the other secretary of defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city… Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat… to Hydra!"

 _Bruce. No._

She, Steve, and Natasha all glanced at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. They couldn't let this happen.

"Now," Sitwell continued, "or in the future."

"The future?" Steve repeated disbelievingly. "How could it know?

It was Sitwell's turn to seem disbelieving, but of Steve, not of some diabolical plan. He laughed. "How could it not?" Gaining confidence, he pushed himself to his feet. They let him. "The twenty first century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it."

No one spoke. They still needed more information from him before they could let him go. He wasn't done talking.

Tania looked to Steve. He didn't seem to understand. Natasha seemed confused. Sam met her eye. The realization was dawning on both him and her.

"Your bank records!" Sitwell elaborated when no one responded. "Medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past… to predict their future."

She watched Steve carefully. His face didn't change, but his next words were laced with understanding and dread. "What then?"

Sitwell's smile faded and he looked down at his shoes. "Oh my God, Pierce is gonna kill me," he whispered.

Steve stepped forward menacingly. "What then?" He demanded.

Sitwell looked up, mouth open. He started backing up, but Sam fisted a hand in his collar, reminding him that he was surrounded. Sitwell turned back to Steve, licking his lips. "The Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list," he breathed. "A few million at a time."

 **A/N. I kept the description of Fort Meade very vague on purpose. I have never been and have no idea what it looks like or... anything about it, really. I tried looking up what it was, but I still didn't get it. I was originally going to dedicate a whole chapter to the retrieval of Sam's wings but decided against it due to my lack of knowledge on Fort Meade. I apologize for all inaccuracies and mistakes.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N. Hey guys. I am so, so sorry about the wait. School has been kicking my ass. It had temporarily RUINED my writing mentality (not to mention eaten away at my time like it's a box of chocolates). I still exist and I fully intend on finishing this story - PROMISE. Anyway, here's to the next chapter! The unlucky number 13 (which also happens to be Sharon Carter's codename). So, without further ado, I introduce... the Winter Soldier highway scene! Enjoy :D**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

There was no time to lose. Steve grabbed Sitwell roughly and dragged him toward the stairs. Tania, Natasha, and Sam followed. The five of them ran down all of the flights of stairs back to Sam's car and piled in, Sitwell seated between Tania and Nat in the back. "Step on it, wingman," Natasha ordered, slamming her door shut.

The engine revved and they pulled out into traffic.

Steve twisted in his seat to face the others. "We have to get back to the Triskelion," he said in a tone that left no room for argument - not that there was any. They had to stop those helicarriers from getting up in the air before mass destruction happened.

"I know how to get there," assured Sam as he pressed harder on the gas pedal.

Tania buckled her seatbelt nervously. "How are we going to do this?"

"Not sure yet," Steve admitted, turning back to the front. "But-"

"Hydra doesn't like leaks," Sitwell interrupted, gripping the seat with both hands.

"Then why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam suggested, checking his rearview mirror.

Natasha poked her head up front. Was no one wearing a seatbelt? "Insight's launching in sixteen hours. We're cutting it a little bit close here."

"I know," Steve sighed. He wasn't wearing one either! "We'll use Sitwell to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly."

"What?" Sitwell's eyes were wide. "Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea-"

 _BOOM-BOOM._ Something large and heavy landed on the roof of the car just as they were merging onto the highway. The metal of the ceiling dented and Tania's window shattered. She screamed as a metal hand reached inside, brushed by her nose, and grabbed Sitwell by the scruff of his neck. She tried to grab him but the metal arm was fast and strong and yanked Sitwell right out the window. She heard him scream before a sickening _squelch._ Whatever other noises that followed were drowned out by her pounding heart.

The person whom she assumed was the Winter Soldier climbed back up onto the roof. Gunfire sprayed the back of the car and she screamed again, pressing herself to the door and closing her eyes.

Natasha scrambled up front and clambered into Steve's lap, simultaneously pulling out her gun. Tania's baton was in the trunk. She cursed eternally-

The car slammed to a grinding halt and she was thrown forward, caught by the seatbelt and yanked back, bonking her head against the headrest as tires squealed. The bullets stopped. She pushed the hair away from her face and peered between the two front seats. There, several meters in front of them, standing in the middle of their lane (and traffic), knelt the Winter Soldier.

Tania watched as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. This was the first time she had seen him and he looked every bit as menacing as Steve and Natasha had described. He was dressed in black and grey, a vest of weapons strapped to his torso and a silver arm with a red star painted near the shoulder. He had long brown hair and a mask that covered his mouth and nose. She briefly wondered how he was able to breathe, then decided that she didn't care. His eyes were obscured by black goggles, but even wearing them, she could feel his stare.

Natasha raised her gun. A force smashed into the rear of the car and Tania felt her seat turn convex. Sam's car skidded forward as the car behind them kept pushing. It became abundantly clear that the Winter Soldier was not alone.

As the vehicles approached the Winter Soldier, he jumped and flipped over the roof. The rear window exploded and Tania ducked, covering her head with her hands. "Sam!" She shouted.

Tires screeched as he presumably slammed on the brakes, but they hardly slowed. She looked up, clawing at the hair in her face once again.

The metal hand crashed through the ceiling once again. It grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it right off.

Sam's cry of "Shit!" said it all.

Natasha began firing. The frame of the car shook as the Winter Soldier leaped onto the armoured vehicle behind them. Tania twisted in her seat just as Sam's car began to swerve. The left side scraped the right side of a nearby car, which kept them in their lane. Without steering, they were doomed if something didn't happen fast. Miraculously, they were still going straight.

Tania ripped the elastic off her wrist and began frantically tying her hair. She was of no use to anyone if she couldn't see.

The car behind them nudged the trunk with its nose and Sam's car veered to the left, turning almost three hundred and sixty degrees. Tania lost the elastic and grabbed the handle above her window holding on for dear life.

Up front, Steve picked up his shield from the floor and grabbed Natasha and Sam. He reached past them to the back. "Tania!" She saw what he was planning. He had lined the shield up with the door and was going to throw them from the car.

She moved, but was held back. So _this_ was why superheroes apparently didn't wear seat-belts. It didn't matter. There was no room for her. His shield (and the door) was only so big. She and Natasha locked eyes. Tania nodded.

Natasha kicked at the driver's seat and shoved them out. The car hit a bump and flipped. The passenger door popped open. Steve, Natasha, and Sam fell out. Tania was whipped around in midair. It felt almost like zero gravity.

The car hit the ground upside down and the roof gave way, slamming into her skull even as it kept rolling. The car rolled over and over and Tania couldn't tell which way was up, down, left, right, forward, backward, or the way to the Emerald City. Shards of glass flew through the air and dented pieces of metal protruded from every section and everything was moving. It felt like it would never stop.

Something stabbed her leg and she screamed.

The car came to a grinding halt.

Her head smashed into the ceiling and she lost consciousness.

* * *

"… nia… ani… Tania!"

She gasped and tried to sit up, but quickly found that she was hanging sideways from a seatbelt and trapped inside a thoroughly destroyed car.

She panicked.

She tried to kick, but her thigh protested by slicing pain straight through her. She shouted something between a yell and a groan.

"Tania!"

That was Sam. Sound began to filter back in. Gunfire. Holy shit, that was a lot of gunfire. But she wasn't currently swiss cheese so she could only assume that it wasn't aimed at her. There was also tires screeching and cars honking and people shrieking.

Everything was still spinning.

She knew one thing for sure: she had to get out. She fumbled with the seatbelt, her hands shaking. Her hair hung uselessly in front of her face and she blew it out of her way. _Click_. She dropped and hit the ground shoulder-first with a grunt. The car was on its right side. She had been sitting on the left. Right. Okay. Good to know.

Her legs were currently above her, lying on the seats. There was a piece of metal of some sort impaling her left thigh, which was soaked in blood. Also good to know.

Okay. Quick injury assessment. Probably concussion. She felt along the back of her head. Sure enough, there was a sizeable bump and a puddle of blood clumping her hair together. That was going to be a pain to get out later. She could feel all fingers and toes, but she could also feel bruises all along her arms, legs, and back, as well as where the seatbelt had dug into her skin. Her right bicep was cut and bleeding, but the pain was dulled by her adrenaline. Let's not forget her thigh that was now part metal.

"Tania!"

Right. Sam was outside. Where were Steve and Natasha?

"Coming!" She called back. She shuffled backward, scraping her elbows on the pavement she could feel beneath her through the nonexistent glass window. Her legs came tumbling down into the place where the passenger in the back right of the car normally left their feet. She grunted again and slid her knees underneath her, pushing upward, using the seats as a wall and support. She reached up and gripped both sides of the shattered window, the one that Sitwell had been pulled through, and yanked herself up and through.

It was hard to believe that before she met Steve, she couldn't even do a pull-up.

She blinked under the Washington sun, observing her surroundings.

It was chaos.

Several cars were overturned. Some were smoking. People were screaming and fleeing. A police car was on fire. Men, presumably Hydra agents, began to jump off the bridge onto the street below carrying large machine guns and wearing bungee cords or something. One of them spotted her.

Squeaking, Tania flipped herself over the other side of the car and landed behind it. Her left leg gave out and she crumpled to the ground, her hair once again obscuring her vision. What she wouldn't give to be bald right now.

Sam was there, helping her sit up and properly take cover behind the remains of his car. Tania pulled another elastic from her wrist and began tying her hair again. "You okay?" She asked, looking around to make sure there were no surprises.

He nodded, hovering anxiously. "Yeah." He glanced down at her leg. "We have to do something about that. I've got a kit in my trunk."

"You can't get that."

"No. But you can."

"What?"

"I'll draw fire."

"No."

"Relax." He smiled and patted her arm like she was an old friend. "On my signal." He pulled a knife from his pocket and crouched just behind the tires, one of which was still spinning. He twirled out of hiding and Tania lost sight of him. There was gunfire and grunts and hits and then, "Go! I got this!"

Tania crawled out from behind the car and saw only Sam standing, using one of the Hydra rifles to fire at someone or something on the street below. Breathing raggedly, she dragged her legs underneath her and pushed. Crying in pain, she stood and pushed the trunk open. The contents had exploded and were lying all over the place. Many of the items were damaged beyond use. Her batons, sturdy things, were intact. She grabbed them and dropped them beside her. Sam's pack was also in there, intact. She pulled it out as well. The rest of the medical supplies were strewn all over the place.

She spotted a bottle of alcohol, but it had been pierced and was empty. The entire trunk wreaked of it. She could only hope no fire got near this car. It would explode for sure. The bandages had unraveled, but there was enough still clean-looking that she grabbed them and tore off the dirty gauze with her teeth. She grabbed the tape, scissors, safety pins, and wipes before taking cover behind the car again and plopping not so gently onto the gravel.

The contents spilled out of her arms and she quickly gathered them up again. She wanted to make this quick, she really did, but holy _shit_ she had to yank a pipe or whatever the hell was through her leg out with her own free will. It must have been hidden under Sam's seat or something. Whatever it was, she was cursing him very colourfully for it under her breath.

She wrapped her hands around the metal. It was warm. God. She tried to take deep breaths. She could _feel_ the damn thing and everything it touched - her muscles, her skin, her nerves. She had never been more aware of any of those things than right now. She could feel the exact shape of the thing even though it was buried in her thigh _because_ it was buried in her thigh.

Closing her eyes, she pulled - and screamed. Her flesh and muscles tore, but the thing wouldn't come loose. If she let go now, she would never pull it again. With a surge of fear and determination, she yanked the pipe free. It clattered to the ground as hot white bursts of light exploded in her eyes and burned her thigh. She howled and fell onto her side, squeezing her eyes shut against the light.

Two hands wrapped around her arms and she lashed out, swinging her right arm. The bone of her wrist met someone's jaw and she spun onto her back to see-

Shit. Sam.

"Sorry!" She cried, reaching for his hands as he cracked his neck and looked at her again.

He chuckled. "It's okay. I'm fine. Mean backhand you got there. But I'm more worried about you." He pressed both of his hands to her thigh and she growled, throwing her head back against the bottom of the car.

"Ow."

Sam shook his head and grabbed the scissors. He cut through the leg of the jeggings she was wearing and threw it aside. It was a gruesome sight. Her thigh was gushing blood like an erupting volcano and there was a _hole_ in her _leg_. She could stick her arm through if she wanted to. Gah.

Sam wiped uselessly at her skin with the wipes before grabbing the gauze and wrapping her leg so tightly that it started to go numb - thank God. "I don't suppose you have any morphine in there?" She asked, breathless from pain.

He laughed. "No. But I'll remember that for next time." He taped the bandages together and pushed on his knees to stand. He held out a hand for her. "Come on. The Winter Soldier went after Steve and Natasha."

She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. She whimpered, but stayed standing, which was something. "Can we catch up to them?" Her adrenaline was wearing off. If she wanted the pain to go away, she needed to move. Even if that was bad for the injury.

"I know a way." He looked down at his pack. Right. Falcon wings.

She nodded, picking up her batons. "Let's go."

He shrugged the pack onto his shoulders and pressed a button by his hip. She stepped back just in time to avoid getting hit in the face with two giant robotic wings. They unfolded and expanded until Sam's wingspan was proportionately accurate. His goggles popped out the back, which he caught expertly and slipped over his eyes. He looked at her. "You ready?"

"Sure. How are we gonna do this?"

"The easy way."

"That's a first," she muttered as he gestured for her to turn around.

"Raise your arms."

She saw where this was going, but raised them anyway. She heard his footsteps as he took a running start at her back. He looped his arms under hers and suddenly they were soaring. She clenched her arm muscles tightly and flailed a little. Flying with Tony felt much more secure than this.

They glided over the street, searching for their friends. Their shadow looked like some mutated, oversized bird terrorizing the city. She wouldn't be surprised if the Avengers faced those one day too.

"There!" Sam shouted.

She spotted Steve having in the middle of an intersection, surrounded by overturned and bullet-ridden cars. He was currently having a staring contest with the Winter Soldier, who was facing away from them. "Take me to them!" She shouted back. Sam obliged and they began to swoop downward. The Winter Soldier was her prey. "I'm gonna hit him!"

"On purpose?!"

"Yes! Keep going!"

They kept going, smoothly diving for the Winter Soldier, who pointed his gun at Steve. _Nuh uh. Not while I'm here._ When they were close enough, Tania swung her legs forward and rammed her right one into his shoulder blade. He fell forward into a messy roll while Sam and Tania kept the momentum going. He set her down gently into a jog while he flew overhead, spinning horizontally to avoid hitting her and then retracting his wings so that he could hit the ground running.

Tania spun around to find Steve. He was still staring at the Winter Soldier, his shield loosely held at his side. Her heart began to pound. What was wrong with him?

The Winter Soldier got up and she looked at him. He wasn't wearing his mask. From this distance, he kind of looked like-

No. It couldn't be.

The Winter Soldier was wide-eyed and… confused. He raised his gun again.

"No!" Tania moved to step into the line of fire, but a bullet whizzed past going the other way and lodged into the car behind the Winter Soldier. The vehicle exploded and Tania ducked. When she looked up again, the Winter Soldier was gone.

Panting, she looked around. Natasha stood with the gun on the other side of the intersection, leaning heavily on a van. She looked weary and hurt and glad that it was finally over, if Tania was reading her expression correctly.

Steve was a bit closer, standing in the exact middle of the four-way intersection, his jaw slack and his eyes glassy. He was filthy and breathing harder than normal, his shoulders moving up and down faster. If the Winter Soldier was who she thought she saw, then Steve's reaction of complete shock was entirely justifiable.

Sam stood in the middle of the street adjacent to Natasha, his wings retracted and shifting from foot to foot. He pushed his goggles to the top of his head and looked around.

Tania stood a few feet from where the Winter Soldier had been staring Steve down. She was the one staring at Steve now, but Steve wasn't staring back. Well, he was staring, just not at her - at the ground.

Sirens blared and multiple black vans careened around the corner, suspiciously without label. They weren't the police and they weren't SHIELD. At every street leading to the intersection, vans screeched to a halt sideways across both lanes, surrounding the Avengers. Men in full gear with kevlar and guns jumped out of the cars and speed-walked toward them, weapons raised.

Tania ripped apart her batons and spun them in anticipation of a fight, but she was in no condition to do so. She looked to Steve for guidance and leadership, but he just… stood there.

The Hydra agents were on them in seconds, grabbing them roughly and taking away their weapons. Two men each took an arm and led her towards one of the vans. She resisted, pulling against them. The agent she recognized as Rumlow kicked the back of Steve's knee until he knelt and she wanted so badly to kick Rumlow where it hurt, but she was too far. Sam and Natasha were both captured as well. Tania could see the blood leaking from Natasha's shoulder now.

They were in no condition to fight.

She let herself be led into the van and cuffed with her hands in front of her. The adrenaline was fading and the pain was rushing back. She groaned and leaned her head against the wall. Natasha was ushered in next, also cuffed. She sat next to Tania, eyes closed and breathing shallow.

Sam stepped in afterward, distinctly without his wings and goggles, which were tossed in after him. Steve came in last, both forearms stuck in some really thick metal cuffs that travelled from his wrists to his elbows, both arms crossed one on top of the other. He sat next to Sam and stared at the floor. The goons shoved the shield under their feet and hopped in, sitting against the wall adjacent to both Tania and Sam. The doors closed.

They were trapped.

The engine roared to life and they all leaned to the right as the van began to move. "Where are we going?" Tania asked, fiddling with the handcuffs. Natasha had taught her how to get out of normal ones, but these were SHIELD-issue and much more complicated.

The guards didn't answer. So Tania decided to pretend they weren't there. She turned to Steve. "Hey," she whispered, trying to get his attention. It failed. "Steve."

He glanced at her. They made eye contact for what seemed like the first time since their shower this morning. She could see that he was shaken.

"Was that… Bucky?"

He swallowed heavily; and nodded. "It was him," he whispered brokenly, so sure. "He looked right at me… and he didn't even know me."

So that had been the staring contest that she had witnessed. The mask must have just come off at that point.

Sam seemed to put two and two together. "How is that even possible? It was like seventy years ago."

Tania snorted. Had he forgotten who he was talking to?

Steve looked down again. "Zola," he said. "Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43. Zola experimented on him." Slowly, Steve looked up. "Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall."

Tania knew all of this; had seen Bucky in bazillions of sketches both she and Steve had drawn together. Had seen pictures. Had heard stories. Had visited his grave. Had talked to his ghost. Steve had once told her that Bucky would have liked her. She wondered if that could even be possible now that he was…

"They must have found him and..."

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Natasha croaked, leaning her head back and closing her eyes against the pain. Tania reached over and took her hands in her own. She couldn't reach the wound, as it was on Natasha's other side, so this would have to do.

Steve didn't even seem to notice. That's how Tania knew that something was extremely wrong with him. He didn't seem to believe what Natasha said either. He turned his head away. "Even when I had nothing I had Bucky."

"Steve…" Tania started, sympathy lacing her tone. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going through. Bucky, his absolute best friend and brother from the time he belonged in, back from the death which Steve had been witness to, with a metal arm and a reputation for being a cold-blooded assassin.

Natasha, of all people, started breathing deeply.

Sam noticed. "We need to get a doctor here," he told the guard closest to him. "We don't put pressure on that wound, she's gonna bleed out here in the tru-".

The guard next to Tania brandished an electric prod and Sam shut up, leaning back. Tania did too, pushing against Natasha as the electricity crackled and zapped. The guard then flipped the rod and stabbed his partner in the chest. The partner cried out and the first guard snapped his foot against the partner's helmet. The partner flopped to the floor at their feet.

Everyone stared at the very helpful guard. This guard removed their helmet and Maria Hill was revealed underneath, her bun a mess. "That thing was squeezing my brain," she said, flipping the hair out of her face. She looked around at all of the surprised faces before turning to Steve. "Who's this guy?" She asked, gesturing to Sam.

The man in question decided to save the Steve the effort of answering in his mental state. "Sam Wilson, former United States Air Force."

Hill raised her eyebrows. "What unit?"

"58th Rescue Squadron."

"A paratrooper."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You keep good company, Rogers. Now come on. I'm busting us you out of here." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out what looked like a taser. She pointed it at the floor and switched it on. A powerful blue laser beam shot out from one end and began searing a hole into the metal of the floor. "Someone want to move him before I cut off limbs he'd rather stay attached?"

Sam kicked him until the guard rolled over, closer to the doors.

"Good enough." Hill continued firing the laser until she'd drawn a square big enough to surround Steve's shield. She flicked the switch and the laser stopped humming, its beam disappearing. Standing up but hunched over because of the low ceiling, Hill stepped forward and stomped on the square. The entire piece popped off and clattered to the moving gravel beneath them.

Tania peered into the square, watching as the shades of grey and black zoomed by. She looked up at Hill. "That's a cool gadget, but I don't suppose you could…?" She raised her cuffed wrists.

"Of course." Hill twisted a dial on the laser thing and pressed the tip to the chain linking the two cuffs of Tania's restraints. Slowly, the metal links began to turn orange. In a couple of the seconds, they broke apart.

"Thanks."

"Wait. I'm not done yet." She grabbed Tania's wrist and pressed the device to the manacle. Sure enough, after a few seconds, that split in half and dropped to the floor. Hill made quick work of everyone's restraints. When she caught sight of Steve's, she paused. "That one's a bit of a doozy but I think I can manage it." Very carefully, she knelt in front of Steve and began chipping away at the thick metal with the laser.

With her hands free, Tania unravelled the scarf she was wearing and began tying it around Natasha's shoulder. There was no exit hole, so the bullet was lodged somewhere in there, hopefully not in Nat's collarbone. That would suck.

Steve's cuffs took a few extra minutes, but they eventually came off. He mumbled a thank you and rubbed his wrists. Hill stood up as much as she could and pocketed the laser. "You're welcome, Cap. Now come on. When this guy stops at a red light, one or two of us jumps out. There's a navy van trailing this one ready to accept passengers at a moment's notice."

"Where are we going?" Asked Natasha.

"To see an old friend."

Well that wasn't cryptic. Tania opened her mouth to ask Hill to elaborate, but the truck came to a slow stop.

"Go!" Hill urged, ushering them through the hole she'd made in the floor. Sam went first, sliding on his pack, hopping through and sliding his legs underneath the car. He was gone in seconds. Natasha went next, maneuvering through gracefully despite her injury.

The car started moving again, so they had to wait for the next stop.

Hill pulled out her phone. "We have three traffic lights before we get to HQ." Her fingers flew across the touch screen. "There. They'll all be red when we get there." She tucked the phone away and sat down on the bench next to Steve. "Alright, you two go next. I'll meet up with you after."

It was only about thirty seconds before the next red light. Steve insisted Tania go first, so she did, gripping her batons tightly. Sam and Nat made it look easy. She shimmied down through the hole until her legs were parallel to the ground and in-between it and the bottom of the car. Then she used the hole to propel the rest of her down and under. _Then_ she had to wiggle feet-first out from under the car, crawl to the next one without being seen by the one she'd just escaped, and hop into the back of the van. Sam threw open the door and pulled her in just as the driver stepped on the gas. She fell forward onto the bench. It was the exact same model vehicle as the one she'd just escaped, but this one was apparently friendly.

Steve literally jumped into the back while it was moving, having caught it easily since it was just beginning to crawl forward at a green light. He shut the doors behind him, carrying his shield on one arm. "Maria will meet us at the next red light," he announced, sounding a bit more like himself - well, his Captain America persona, anyway. He settled down next to Tania with a sigh and closed his eyes.

She sidled closer and looped her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder. She, too, closed her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept. That was bad, but if Tony could last seventy-two hours without sleep, so could she. Except he had access to coffee… God. What she wouldn't do for a coffee right now - or ten coffees, triple espresso.

"Are you okay?" Steve's question tore her from her daydreaming.

She lifted her head from his shoulder, blinking. "Uh." Right. Impaled thigh. Jeggings with only one pant leg, the other one bare except for a really bloody bandage around her thigh. "Yes?"

His eyes shone with guilt as he caressed her cheek. He was thinking about when he'd grabbed Sam and Natasha, but not her. She just _knew_ he was beating himself up about it. "I'm sorry," he whispered, gently massaging the back of her neck.

She hummed and pressed her forehead to his shoulder. "S'okay," she mumbled, melting into a puddle of goo. "No room for me on your shield. It's an exclusive club. Only people with 's' in their name are invited. I get it." She fake sniffled.

Steve huffed an almost-laugh and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I love you."

She snuggled closer. "Love you too."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N. Hello, everyone! I'm so sorry about my absence. All I can say now is that I SHOULD be updating regularly now (or at least more often than every two months). I'm hoping to finish this story this summer and then work on some original fiction so you may not hear from me for a while after this story is finished. When next I post, I'm going to try a different method: I'm going to finish the entire thing, edit it, and THEN post it all at once (not in the same day, that would be too many chapters). Until then, I'll continue posting sporadically. But don't worry guys, it's almost over! We're heading to the climax! Bear with me (please).**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

After Hill hopped into the van, Steve and Nat caught her up on everything that had happened. It was the least they could do for someone who had just saved all of their lives. Hill nodded in understanding, not looking the least bit surprised. Then again, she had a mask almost as impenetrable as Natasha's, so maybe she was just internalizing her reactions.

In any case, Hill told them about how Fury had called her to DC right before his attack. She had been overseeing the reconstruction of the New York base and had rushed right over, but had been too late.

In the middle of her story, the van arrived at its destination. The doors opened and Hill stepped out first. Sam went next before turning and offering a hand to Natasha, who hesitated, then took it and jumped out. She immediately let go and started following Hill, who was walking briskly toward the small door at the bottom of a man-made dam of some sort. It was a humongous concrete wall that stretched up and up from the bottom of a ravine to the tips of the trees in the surrounding forest.

Steve jumped out of the van and turned to face Tania, who stood hunched over, with all of her weight on her good leg. He reached up and grabbed her waist without thinking. She held onto his shoulders and tried to hop as he easily swept her into his arms. Exhaustion began to creep up on her. She could feel the weight of sleep growing heavy in her limbs. She let her head loll onto his shoulder and sighed. This was the comfiest spot she had been in for the last several hours - maybe days. She couldn't remember.

Steve caught up to the others easily, carefully squeezing them through the sketchy tunnel and into the dark corridor. The interior lighting was sparse and shadows stretched along the hallway, elongating its depth. A man burst from the darkness, jogging toward them.

"GSW," Hill said at normal volume. Her voice carried far in the confines of the corridor. She gestured to the woman under her arm. Natasha loosely held Hill's waist. "She's lost at least a pint."

"Maybe two," Sam piped up. "Tania's lost a lot of blood too, but at least we managed to stem the bleeding."

The running man reached them just as Steve caught up. "Let me take them," he suggested. Tania assumed he was a doctor of some kind. The latex gloves were a bit of a giveaway.

"They'll want to see him first," said Hill matter of factly.

"Um, yeah, no, pretty sure I want medical attention first," Tania slurred, drifting towards unconsciousness.

The doctor nodded, pushing up his glasses. "He's in the med bay. We can do both. Follow me." He turned on his heel and began walking purposefully down the hall.

Steve followed, keeping pace easily. "Hey," he whispered to Tania, shifting her slightly in his arms.

She groaned and burrowed into his chest.

"You've got to stay awake for me, okay?" His words were punctuated with a concern and guilt.

She nodded into his shirt and forced her eyes open, turning to see where they were going. Steve stopped just behind the doctor, who pulled open a plastic curtain to reveal the makeshift med bay. "Makeshift" was a generous word. But that wasn't the most surprising thing.

On the bed, lying serenely under the covers, was Nick Fury - a very much _alive_ Nick Fury, who raised his head to look at them. "About damn time," he muttered.

Tania was suddenly very awake.

The doctor ushered Natasha into a chair and gestured for Steve to place Tania on the bed next to Fury's. He lowered her onto the thin mattress and she slid back on her elbows to sit up against the headboard. Steve stood vigilant by her side, left hand laced with hers.

Since Natasha's wound hadn't been bandaged, the doctor started treating her first, applying pressure to both sides of her shoulder.

Tania couldn't stop staring. Nick Fury was _alive_. She had watched him die. From the moment he'd been shot to the moment he'd flatlined, she'd _been there_. This wasn't possible. She was friends with Iron Men and Norse gods and super soldiers and master assassins; had fought mad scientists and giant robots and time traveled.

But _this_.

This took the cake for craziest thing she'd ever seen.

Time travel had been a theory. Norse gods had been mythology. Robots were technology in the wrong hands. Aliens were intelligent life forms from other planets. But _resurrection_? That was just plain fiction.

Nick seemed to sense their shock. "Lacerated spinal column… cracked sternum… shattered collarbone… perforated liver… one hell of a headache."

No one laughed.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," reminded the doctor.

Fury threw a deadpan look at him with his one eye. Even on his deathbed, he wore his eyepatch more menacingly than any movie character Tania had ever seen. "Let's not forget that. But otherwise, I'm good."

Right. _Good_. Because having been dead must have been so easy.

Natasha said exactly what Tania was thinking. "They cut you open. Your heart stopped." Her expression was carefully blank.

"Dendrotoxin B," Fury sighed. "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Bruce gave that to you?" Tania asked incredulously.

"Not exactly. This was before the alien invasion. He was on SHIELD's radar. He'd had an incident so SHIELD cleaned up his mess. Turns out he left this behind. We thought it might come in handy."

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve asked. "Why not just tell us?"

It was Hill who answered, clinically detached and standing in the corner of the room with her arms crossed. "Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful."

"Can't kill you if you're already dead." Nick sounded as tired as Tania felt. "Besides… I wasn't sure who to trust."

No one said anything at that. Fury obviously believed that they had all done something to warrant suspicion. Natasha looked down almost guiltily.

A shot of pain spiked through Tania's thigh and she gasped, throwing her head back and groaning. Steve was there, stroking her hair and whispering to her. She fisted the scratchy sheets in her hands and twisted. Her thigh felt wet and soggy. She knew without looking that the bandage was completely soaked through.

"What was in your car, Sam? A broken pipe?" She bit out through gritted teeth.

Sam ducked his head slightly. "Uh, yeah. I like to… tinker." His hands turned back and forth in the air, but Tania had no idea what that was supposed to mean. "With cars." Sam's hands found their way to his pockets and he shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut. The room felt hot, humid, like a cloud of heat had just descended upon them. Every inhale was like slurping up steam. Fire ignited in her leg and her hands instinctively reached toward it. She had enough sense not to touch it. "It burns," she croaked, shifting on the cotton of the bed, her skin glistening.

"I know. I know, Darling, I know," Steve crooned in her ear. "You're doing great. And now you can't use the word 'fine' against me."

She huffed out a breathy laugh. "Isn't there… more than one doctor here?"

"I'm sorry," said the one voice in the room Tania wasn't familiar with. "It's just me. Like the Director said, he didn't know who to trust. I, uh, work at the hospital around the block. I'm almost done here, Ma'am. I'll be right with you."

Tania nodded, the back of her head scratching the sheet. She gripped Steve's hand tighter, focusing on the callouses on his fingers and the size of his palm. His skin was rough but he was always gentle with her. He gave her hand a light squeeze. She knew he was holding himself back. If he wanted to, he could shatter every bone in her hand - but he wouldn't. He always had to be careful with his strength.

Fire sprang from her thigh up to her chest and she sobbed.

"I'm coming!" Footsteps. A pair of hands pressed to her wound. She screamed.

She had no way of knowing that somewhere out there, someone else was also screaming.

* * *

Her body seized.

"Hey, hey, easy." _Steve_.

She was in some sort of crappy hospital room. It was dark and dingy and bare. Her mind felt fuzzy along the edges. Pain medication? Probably. Her leg wasn't on fire anymore, so that was something.

"Tania." Steve came into focus. He was leaning above her, brows furrowed slightly. His face was cast in shadow. "You're safe."

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to make he ringing stop. She most definitely had a concussion. "Where are we?"

A beat. "Underground. Fury's secret lair or something."

Right. Nick was alive. She was glad but also extremely pissed. Unfortunately, she wasn't that motivated to react at the moment. "How long was I out?"

"Not long. Maybe thirty minutes. Insight's launching in fifteen hours. I just came to say good-bye."

"What?" Tania's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. The world spun. "You're not leaving me here."

"You're injured-"

"I don't care! I'm coming with you."

"Tania-"

"Don't speak to me with that tone!"

"What tone?"

"The one where you're trying to explain something to a toddler. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and this is my choice."

Steve sighed. "I thought you didn't want to be a superhero."

She huffed indignantly. "You want to bring that up _now_? I am coming with you."

"You don't know the plan."

She was trying not to be offended that they had some sort of meeting while she was unconscious. "So tell me the plan."

He narrowed his eyes. "No."

"Damn it, Steve!" She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Lie down!" He barked.

"Don't give me orders!" She barked back. Her grip on the sheets tightened. "I don't even feel pain right now. I can walk." She stood up tentatively. She moved her leg around. It tingled and prickled with numbness. "See?"

"You are being reckless and you aren't thinking straight."

She glared at him, lifting her chin to do it. "There was a time when I was okay with sitting on the sidelines and waiting for you to come home. Now is not that time."

His shoulders sagged and he brushed his hands along both of her arms. "Please don't fight me on this. You're in no condition to fight."

"I can if I have to. You, Natasha, and Sam are only a small team compared to the likes of Hydra. You need help." Speaking of which… "Have you called the others?"

Steve dropped his arms and sighed. "Yes. Natasha said the Stark comms are being monitored, probably by SHIELD hackers, but Tony answered his phone. Apparently he was in the middle of attacking an A.I.M. compound but it ended up being some sort of distraction to get to Bruce. He was exposed to some sort of chemical and now he's stuck in Hulk form for the foreseeable future. A.I.M. did something to anger him and now he's on a rampage in the forest. Tony called in Thor and the two of them are currently chasing him towards Mexico. Tony promised to come as soon as he can, but he has his hands full with Bruce."

That was a lot to take in and Tania found herself sitting back down again. "Is Bruce gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. Tony sounded optimistic on the phone, but you know how he gets." He shrugged.

"All the more reason for me to come with you," Tania pushed, standing again as if to make her point. "The three of you can't take on Hydra alone."

"Five. Hill and Fury are part of the plan too."

"Fine. Five against Hydra is still low odds."

"Tania, _please_." The blues of his eyes dimmed as he begged. "Stay here."

She considered it. He was right. She was injured and on painkillers, therefore not thinking straight. But she could walk. She could _fight_. Back when she'd been the girlfriend waiting anxiously for Steve to return from missions, she'd been okay with waiting because she didn't know how to do anything else. Now she had the power to do something and if she had that power, she would be damned if she didn't use it to help Steve in any way she could. "I'm coming."

They stared at each other in electrifying silence. They were both stubborn but Tania knew that Steve would never force her to do anything. He glanced at her newly bandaged thigh before returning his gaze to her face. "The doctor said that if you put too much strain on your leg, you could permanently damage it."

Oh. She supposed that just because she couldn't feel the pain at the moment, didn't mean that her injury had magically gone away. "I'll deal with that when the time comes," she said firmly.

"My problem with that statement is the 'when'," he argued. "You could ruin your leg. You might need a cane."

"I can't sit here in this _cave_ and watch you put yourself in danger. If it were the other way around, you wouldn't let me do this either."

He pursed his lips because he knew it was true.

Without waiting for his approval, she hobbled past him to the door. "I'll try to avoid putting as much weight on it as I can," she compromised. "What's the plan?" It took several steps before he eventually emerged from the room and into the hallway, catching up to her with ease. His face was set in a deep frown.

"Sam and I are going to infiltrate the three helicarriers and replace their targeting chips with the ones Fury whipped up. They'll tell the carriers to target each other as opposed to the people. We have to do this for every ship or the whole thing fails.

"Nat is going undercover at the Triskelion as a member of the World Security Council to take out Pierce and expose Hydra to the world. SHIELD won't survive the fallout, but it's not meant to." He paused to let that sink in.

No more SHIELD. No more spy missions. No more fighting for a living. Tania could live with that. But could America? Could the world? What would happen if a threat like aliens or killer robots appeared? Sure, the Avengers would be there, but SHIELD was a peacekeeping organization with government funding and resources as far as the eye could see. Tony's money could only stretch so far.

But SHIELD was corrupted, rotten almost to the core. Hydra was so deeply rooted inside the organization that to take out one was to take out the other. It made sense, even if it destroyed the government's only defense against "special" threats.

She nodded for Steve to continue.

"Fury will join Nat once she has access to the SHIELD database. He has the password to get her in. Hill will also be at the Triskelion, monitoring the countdown and supervising on comms. She's basically the handler - if this were a normal mission."

But it wasn't. They were going to eliminate the organization that _gave them_ their missions. This was crazy.

But necessary.

"There are only two of you," she pointed out as Steve steered her around a corner. "You and Sam. There's three helicarriers."

"I know what you're thinking. No."

" _Steve_." She was getting pissed now.

"You can take over Hill's position. Stay in a chair. Maria can-"

"She can work all those computers way better than I can. Just have Sam drop me off as close to the drop off point as possible and I'll be in an out before you know it." When he didn't say anything, she pulled him to a stop. "Hey. Look at me." She waited until he did. "I don't need your permission to do anything and I don't need your disapproval. I'd like your support."

He shifted on his feet. "I know. But it's hard to support an idea that will only get you hurt."

"Then don't support that. Support me making my own decisions and not abandoning the people that I love. Support me wanting to support you when you face Bucky again."

He flinched. "I can handle him." He said it like a reflex; like a line rehearsed a thousand times.

"I know. But I want to support you. Please do the same for me."

He raised his gaze from where he'd been staring at his shoes and locked eyes with her. She saw pain in the depths of his irises. Her being out there was one more thing to worry about besides his brainwashed brought-back-from-the-dead assassin best friend. But she wouldn't let him deal with that alone.

Finally, he relented. "Alright," he whispered.

She reached up and slid her hands up the nape of his neck and into his hair, bringing his lips down to hers. The kiss was slow and gentle and she felt the embers of their love glow brighter every time. She pulled back to breathe, eyelashes fluttering. "I love you."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you too. Now come on. Hill must have something for you to wear." He slid his hand along her arm to lock with hers and began tugging her in the right direction. She limped as best she could, doing her absolute best to keep all weight off of her leg despite the lack of pain. She really didn't want a cane, but if that was what it took to have Steve's back, she would gladly make that sacrifice.

Hill handed her a black catsuit. No SHIELD logos. It was just black material that clung to her form. She also handed her a utility belt. "We don't have a holster for your staff," Hill explained. "It was SHIELD-issue. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine," Tania assured, twirling her staff. "I don't need a holster." She tapped the floor with her new makeshift walking stick. "Thanks."

Hill eyed her bandaged leg with a stern expression. "You'll need a long distance weapon." She reached behind her and pulled out a gun.

"No," she blurted.

Hill tilted her head. "It can prevent people from getting close to you. You won't have to fight them-"

Tania vehemently shook her head. "No. I don't- I won't kill people."

"Then don't aim for the head."

She hesitated; shook her head again. "No thanks _._ I'll stick with my staff."

For several seconds it didn't look like Hill would relent. Then, with a sigh, she lowered the gun and stuffed it back in the waistband of her pants. "I might have something non-lethal. Follow me."

Using her new cane, Tania limped forward. Steve's hands fell away, but he was never far behind. She sensed his presence at her back.

Hill led them to a room that was empty except for a safe. She unlocked it and popped it open. The metal hinges creaked as the door swung to the side. Hill reached in and pulled out the Night-Night gun - or, a version of it, at least. "This is an ICER." Hill's arms snapped up, aiming the weapon at the far wall in record time. "It's a prototype developed by Agent Fitz." She lowered her arms and held the ICER out to Tania, handle first. "Knocks people out cold."

After a second of hesitation, Tania took the gun. "Is that why it's called an ICER?"

Hill huffed a laugh. "No. It's an acronym for Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railgun."

"Huh." Tania fingered the handle of the weapon. "Well… It's better than 'Night-Night Gun'." She raised her arm and pointed the gun at the wall. "Ammo?"

"Modified bullets that contain dendrotoxins that incapacitate people without harm or side effects. I don't have any extra cartridges so you'll have to make do with twelve bullets."

Tania dropped her arm. "This is great. Thank you."

Hill shrugged. "Get to work. We're leaving in twenty and we have a pitstop to make. She kicked the safe closed and locked it before brushing past them to the door.

"Pitstop?"

Steve took the clothes and ICER from her so that she could get a better grip on her staff. "It's like I told Sam earlier," he said. "If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N. Hello everyone! Here's the next action-packed chapter :D I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Once Tania and everyone else had changed into their uniforms (except for Steve), they split up. Natasha and Fury went to the airport to intercept one of the World Security Council members. Before they left, Tania hugged Natasha good-bye with a whisper to be careful. Natasha had just smirked and walked away.

Hill, Sam, Steve, and Tania piled into a small black car with Hill at the wheel and Sam in shot gun. Steve and Tania sat at the back, thighs pressed together, hands intertwined, and her head on his shoulder. It was finally setting in that they were off to fight _SHIELD_ \- the very organization that had brought the Avengers together. People that they knew were going to be at the Triskelion and on those helicarriers. Fury had said to treat everyone they encountered as Hydra, but Tania couldn't do that. She was not one to shoot first and ask questions later.

Steve had grudgingly accepted the fact that there was no other way to complete their mission successfully and efficiently without taking out any and all hostiles along the way. Anyone still on the helicarriers when they crashed…

They had to assume to be Hydra. Fury's intel suggested that at least %80 of the agents tasked to Project Insight were Hydra. Tania could only hope that %100 of them were and that those that weren't were somehow spared.

"You know where you're going?" Sam asked and Tania looked up. He was speaking to Hill.

"I've been to the Smithsonian before," she replied, checking her rearview mirror. "It's quite the tourist attraction."

Tania craned her neck to check Steve's reaction. He was staring off into space, lost in thought. "Hey," she whispered, nudging his leg with hers. "Steve."

He blinked and looked at her. "Yeah?"

It wasn't like him to zone out right before a mission. He was usually so focused that if someone said something not mission-related, he would often misunderstand. Tony teased him mercilessly about it. Tania wanted to ask Steve about it, but in close quarters with two other people didn't seem like the right time. "Nothing." She shrugged. "Just… making sure you're still with us." She could feel his gaze boring into the top of her head for a couple seconds before he looked away.

They pulled up to the Smithsonian a while later, Nirvana playing on the radio. "Well, you can cross that off your list," Tania said, unbuckling her seatbelt and untangling herself from Steve.

"Remind me when we get home," he grunted, stepping out of the car.

Sam rolled down his window and poked his head out. "Remember, the museum closed about thirty minutes ago so there's probably still people in there. Maria was able to get a SHIELD techie she trusts disable the security cameras so you don't have to worry about those. It's an easy in and out standard op-"

"We know, Sam," Tania chuckled, crossing her arms. "This isn't our first break in."

Sam grinned. "Just tryin' on the Cap helmet. See what it's like leading the Avengers."

"And?"

He shrugged. "You can't replace Captain America. But seriously, be careful."

"We'll be fine," Steve assured, coming around to join Tania on the other side of the car after having grabbed his shield from the trunk. "Back in ten."

"Fifteen."

He glanced at Tania in surprise, then nodded at Sam. "Right. Fifteen."

Sam looked like he wanted to ask questions, but he didn't, for which Tania was grateful. Instead, he said, "we'll ditch the car and meet you out back."

Steve nodded and the car pulled out of the parking lot. He turned to Tania, who stared at him. "Ready?" He asked.

For a moment, it didn't look like she was going to answer. Then she nodded and the two of them headed for the Smithsonian. The front doors were open so they walked right in. Tania took out the security guard at the information desk with her ICER and they stole his keys.

She waited until they were almost at the Captain America exhibit to say anything. "You did promise to take me here on day," she mused, trying to take everything in without slowing down.

He laughed without humour. "Didn't picture it like this, right?"

"No." They lapsed into silence again, listening for footsteps and speed-walking. "Hey." She stopped, leaning heavily on her staff.

He turned to her, brows furrowed in confusion. "What is it?"

"Are you gonna be okay in there?" She nodded at the Captain America exhibit just ahead.

His stare hardened. "I've been going there almost every day for a while now. I can handle it." He pivoted and started walking again, this time fast enough that she couldn't keep up.

"Hey! You big oaf," she grumbled under her breath as she hobbled after him. They crossed the threshold between exhibits and found themselves in the darkened history of Steve Rogers.

There was a big panel on the right wall with a large quote from Steve himself, situated right next to a painting of him in uniform saluting. The exhibit was punctuated with quotes, pieces of art, panels, artifacts, tidbits, photos, and videos. It was everything about Captain America she could ever want to know.

Except the focus on Steve Rogers. Nowhere in the exhibit did it mention that he loved art, nor did it mention how belittled and used he felt after Erskine was killed and he was turned into a show-boy. None of the facts pasted on the walls stated that Steve was always losing track of his keys or that he had never danced with a woman before going down. Nowhere did it say that his favourite sport was baseball or that his favourite book was The Wizard of Oz. Nowhere did it say that he learned a lot about hair and makeup from the showgirls he used to tour with. Nowhere did it say that while he often fought bullies, he was also quite the troublemaker (mostly due to Bucky's influence).

Captain America was not just a person to them; he was a symbol, something more than human. To make him relatable would be downplaying his heroic status. At least, that must be what the curators thought when putting this exhibit together.

And amidst all the red, white, and blue, nowhere did it say that Hydra never died.

Steve found his suit easily enough. He'd been here enough times to have the whole place memorized. A mannequin wore the uniform, holding the old shield he'd used the very first time he'd gone behind enemy lines. On either side of him were other mannequins wearing the uniforms (or replicas of them) of the Howling Commandos.

Tania walked up to the mannequin wearing Bucky's deep blue jacket. The sign beneath said that the above uniform was a replica because these had been the clothes that Barnes was wearing when he died. His body was never found.

A lump rose in her throat and she looked up, past the mannequin, to the mural of Bucky on the wall, standing at Steve's shoulder. He was handsome and his face was set in grim determination. If there had ever been any doubt that the Winter Soldier was Bucky, it fled from her quickly.

Steve had said that Zola had managed to experiment on Bucky during the war, which must have helped him survive the fall from the train. How many times Steve had woken up from a nightmare that he'd failed Bucky _again_ , she couldn't count. He'd recounted the story enough times that she could paint a picture of every moment.

The train had been behind enemy lines. Bucky had fallen into enemy territory and the enemy had found him, dragged him back to base, experimented on-

She choked on a sob. _God. Bucky, what did they do to you?_ She had never met Bucky, but she knew enough about him that this information _hurt_. She'd spoken to his gravestone enough times, sat upon the earth that covered his empty coffin, listened as Steve regaled stories of the Avengers to a slab of rock with his best friend's name carved into it. Steve had once told her that he thought Bucky would like her. She had thought that she would like him too. Anyone who recognized Steve for what he was before he big and tall had to be someone worth knowing. He had been everything to Steve; had been his whole world after his mom died. Bucky had been with him since they were kids until one day… he'd been stolen right in front of Steve.

Steve's pain was raw and deep and so powerful that she often swore she could feel an echo of it in her soul as she cradled him, trying to sing him back to sleep. Losing Bucky was one of the only things that had ever made Steve cry.

They… Zola and whatever other bastards he'd been working with… had kept Bucky alive this long - kept him young. There was only one other person who had been alive as long as Bucky had and still looked the same as when they went down and that person was Steve. He'd been frozen in ice. Did that mean that Bucky…?

But he'd been active for at least the past fifty years. The only possible way for that to work would be if he was frozen and unfrozen constantly… as needed.

The thought brought bile up her throat and she swallowed it down, tasting the acid. How could they? _How could they?_

A hand on her shoulder made her jump violently. She stumbled for a moment but regained her balance with the help of the staff, heart pounding, to see Steve, now dressed in his old uniform with his shield on his arm. The suit was dirty and wrinkled as if no one had washed it since he woke up. No one probably had.

"You look…" She trailed off, unsure how to articulate words after being brought back to Earth so suddenly.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. He was steadily _not_ looking at Bucky's picture, but his eyes were red-rimmed, just like hers probably were. It hit her then, that this was the uniform Bucky knew Captain America to wear. It was the suit Bucky had last seen Steve in and the one Steve had worn when Bucky fell. It was the uniform Steve had died in.

She took a deep breath. "We'll get him back," she said confidently, wiping at her tears. "No matter what it takes. We'll find a way."

He blinked - then his lips cracked a small smile. "I love you."

She touched his jaw, brushing her fingers down his chin. "I love you too."

He nodded, hitching his shield higher on his arm. "Let's go."

* * *

The walk to the Triskelion was long, but calming. The long silence was filled with Hill chatting with her inside man on the comms about intercepting the satellite dish as a distraction to the techies in the surveillance room.

Sam was a great comfort. He was their eyes in the sky, transport, and an overall funny guy. He doubled his efforts to make everyone smile and succeeded. He had _tons_ of stories about the stupid stuff he, Riley, and his fellow paratroopers got up to when they weren't on duty. From drunken dares at bars to playing poker in another soldier's bedroom to pranking the new recruits, Sam had no shortage of tales to tell.

By the time they reached the Triskelion, Tania had stopped thinking of the mission altogether. But then suddenly there it stood, looming over them like Mount Doom, and her smile washed away.

This was a high-stakes mission. Sure, she'd done some crazy shit, but if one thing went wrong, millions of people would die. Not to mention the fact that Bucky was somewhere up there, waiting for them, and Tania for a fact that Steve would never leave without him. They had no plan for bringing in the Winter Soldier. Their only hope was if Steve could get him to remember, even for a second, and make him doubt, then maybe Bucky would stop fighting.

Sam flew them each up to the roof of the Triskelion one at a time, where Hill used her security clearance to get them inside. From there, they made their way to the surveillance room, which was locked manually. Hill's inside man disrupted the signals emitting from the building to get the attention of the techies on the other side of the door. Hill and Sam raised their guns while Steve stood, intimidatingly, in the front, Tania bringing up the rear, ICER in hand.

The door opened and a shocked, skinny-looking tech stood there with wide eyes. Steve stepped forward with a polite nod. "Excuse us."

The tech nodded and raised his arms, backing away to grant them entrance. Sam and Tania kept their weapons up while Hill immediately started manipulating the P.A. system. Steve took off his mask and stepped up to the plate, adjusting the microphone for his impressive height. He nodded at Hill, who flicked the switch.

The speakers crackled to life. "Attention all SHIELD agents," Steve boomed into the microphone, "this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down."

Tania eyed the many screens lining the console at which Steve stood. On each screen was a different room in the Triskelion. In each room, everyone stopped to listen, turning their heads curiously to the ceiling.

"But I think it's time you knew the truth." He paused as if trying to gather his thoughts before making an announcement that would shift the worlds of every person here. "SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more. But I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you."

A man in the corner of the room stood and sprinted for the door. Sam shot him down with two bullets.

Tania did not look anywhere but at the wall ahead of Steve.

"They almost have what they want: absolute control," Steve continued. "They shot Nick Fury… and it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them.

"I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. Always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Leave it to Steve to come up with the best, most inspiring speeches. Sam seemed to agree. He walked up to Steve with a half-smile on his face. "Did you write that down first? Or was it off the top of your head?"

Steve half-smiled back and slipped on his helmet. "I just winged it."

Sam laughed and slapped Steve on the back. "C'mon. We gotta get to those 'carriers."

"Clear the room!" Hill shouted, plopping down in the office chair with a flourish. "Everybody out!"

The techs began filing out the door. Two of them grabbed the one Hydra agent and carried him away, groaning and bleeding. A couple of the techies hesitated. A redheaded woman with freckles all over her face stepped forward. "Director Hill? We'd like to help."

"There's nothing you can do here," Hill stated, looking up from the console to meet the agent's eyes. "And this place isn't safe. If I were you, I'd get out while I still can."

The agents glanced at each other.

"That's an order," Hill barked.

The agents nodded sharply and made for the exit.

"Maybe the last one I'll ever give," Maria mumbled under her breath. Louder, she spun to face the trio. "You guys need to get on those helicarriers. Anyone who's not Hydra should either be fighting them or running for their lives."

Tania sighed, replacing the ICER in her holster. She felt a bit better about shooting down those helicarriers, at least. "Any idea where Bucky is?"

Hill turned back to the console, typing furiously. "Nope. Surveillance isn't picking up anything but I do, I'll let you know."

Steve dipped his head. "Thank you, Director."

She smiled. It was the first one Tania had ever seen from her. "I like the sound of that. Too bad I'm currently Director of nothing. Good luck."

The three of them ran to the stairs. The elevator was still out of order from when Pierce had tried to bring Steve in. Had that only been yesterday? Or was it the day before? She couldn't remember.

They made it to the flight deck just as Hill's stern voice came across the comms. _"They're initiating launch."_

Steve, Sam, and Tania burst onto the flight deck sprinting.

"Hey, Cap!" Sam called. "How do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"

Valid question.

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad," came Steve's response.

She forgot how sassy he could get when on a mission.

Sam clenched his hands into fists and jabbed both elbows outward. His pack lit up and unfolded into a pair of metal wings. He grabbed Tania underneath the arms and took off as Steve jumped onto the helicarrier below.

Sam and Tania soared through the air, gliding evenly over the landscape. "Good thing we got that practice in," Sam joked from above.

She snorted. "Good thing I trust you. Don't drop me, Wilson, or I swear…"

He laughed. "You're in good hands, Banks. What do you say? Carrier two or carrier three?"

"Three."

"You got it. Hang on to your hat!" They twirled to the right in a smooth turn that led them straight to the third carrier. Before they could get too close, the guns at the bottom and top of the ship started firing at them. Sam swerved out of the way. Tania had been fine up until this point, but now she was feeling a bit sick. "Hey, Cap!" Sam called. "I found those bad guys you were talking about!"

 _"You guys okay?"_

"I'm feeling a little airsick," she confessed as Sam continued to execute evasive maneuvers.

"Sorry, Tania. I've never really done this with a passenger before."

"I can see why."

"You get barf on these wings…"

"You set me down and I won't have to."

"Deal."

A bullet nearly grazed her foot as Sam flipped them backward. "Your weight is throwing me off my game, Banks."

"You calling me fat, Wilson?"

Sam laughed outright, swooping down between the guns on the deck of helicarrier number three. "Wouldn't dream of it." He let her go a few feet from the deck and she dropped into a roll. About half a dozen agents in military gear approached her on all sides.

She shifted so that her weight was distributed evenly on both legs. The extra dose she'd taken before the mission made sure that her thigh was still numb and harder to maneuver, but there was no pain. She would have to make do.

She dove behind a stack of crates as bullets peppered the floor behind her. She pulled out her ICER and waited for the firing to stop. When it did, she popped up from behind the crates and fired, calling upon all of those lessons with Clint. Three of them went down before she had to duck again. She had eight rounds left and three goons. She could do this.

Something metal rolled toward her crate. She could hear it clanking against the metal of the deck. She didn't know what it was and she didn't want to find out. She rolled out from behind the crate and fired three more times. Two men went down but she missed the third and he began firing back. The crates beside her exploded and she blew backward. She salvaged the fall into a roll and came up with her ICER raised.

They both fired.

She was the better shot.

He went down with a cry and she went up with a breath of "yes!"

 _Thank you, Hawkeye._

* * *

"Thanks, Barton," Viola uttered, breathing hard, back pressed against the wall.

Beside her, also panting, Clint peeked around the corner. He wrenched himself back just as the edge exploded in dust and gunshots fired from the other side of the compound. "Not a problem," he ground out through gritted teeth. "Have you managed to get into contact with Hinamori?"

"No," she huffed. "Radio silence."

Clint cursed. "And it's not the comms?"

"Not that I can tell. There might be a device somewhere around here that's interfering with the frequency, but there's no way to tell. He might just be ignoring us."

The bullets stopped and Clint leaned around the corner to fire back. After a few well-placed shots, he twisted back just in time to avoid more bullets. There were too many of them to take out in the few seconds he had to lean over without getting shot. "I think it's time to call for back-up."

Viola met his gaze and nodded. He handed her the gun and they switched positions. As she continued the firefight, Clint held a hand to his ear. "JARVIS?"

" _Shall I call the Avengers, Agent Barton?"_

"If you'd be so kind."

 _"Line four is still not secure."_

"JARVIS!" Clint snapped, irritated.

A shrill ringing was the AI's only response. Eventually, something clicked. " _Y'ello_?"

"Tony!" Clint barked in relief. "Tony, I am in some deep shit."

There were some grunts on the other end. And… repulsors? _"Join the club, bird brain. Thor and I are kind of-woah! Uh, trying to wrangle the Hulk at the moment."_

"What?" Clint ducked as the brick above his head exploded, dust raining down on both him and Viola.

"Run!" She commanded, pivoting and sprinting away from the firefight.

Clint was hot on her heels. "What's wrong with Bruce?" He yelled into his comms, desert sand shooting up around him.

 _"He may have… been exposed to some chemicals he shouldn't have."_

"What happened to that contingency plan you were working on?"

" _It's not finished yet. And I need Bruce's input on the next part."_

"Okay, well what about the rest of the team?"

 _"I assume if they're not answering that that's answer enough._ "

Clint's blood ran cold. "Are they on a mission or something?" He followed Viola into a concrete building on its last legs.

"I'm out of ammo!" She cried, tossing the gun aside. "We need to get back to our room." That was where Clint's bow was.

He nodded in agreement. "Follow me." He ran for the stairs, taking them three at a time.

Tony was spewing information in his good ear. _"They tell you about Hydra?"_

"Yeah."

 _"Well CNN is saying something about helicarriers being launched into the sky without government permission. I have a feeling some Hydra-type shit is about to go down, if it isn't going down already."_

That made sense. If Steve, Nat, and Tania had exposed Hydra to the rest of SHIELD, a war would be going on within the organization. Someone who'd been assigned to this mission must have been Hydra and since their cover was blown, they'd blown the covers of everyone else here. So no one was interfering with the comms, but their handler was most probably Hydra.

Great.

Clint and Viola reached the roof of the building. A line of laundry connected this house to the next. From there, they could parkour to their house a block or so down. Without waiting for an explanation, Viola unwrapped her headscarf and twisted it around her fists. She placed the scarf on the wire and leaped off, zip lining to the next building.

Clint really wished he had his bow. "Keep me posted," he told Tony as he grabbed a pipe lying off to the side. He held it in both hands on either side of the wire and jumped. The wind whistled in his ears.

 _"That goes for you too, Barton."_

 _"I shall inform you of any changes,"_ Thor promised.

"Thanks, guys." Clint's boots hit the wall and he pushed off, flipping over the edge and onto the roof. He flung the pipe to the side and sped across the building, launching himself over the edge, across the gap, and rolling onto the next roof. Viola was a house ahead of him, sprinting surprisingly fast for a woman in a heavy black dress under the Middle Eastern sun.

He hopped onto the beam at the roof's edge, running as comfortably as if he were running on a wide surface. He cartwheeled and then flipped over the gap between the next two buildings, landed harshly on his heels before he kept going. There was constant gunfire behind him and a few snipers had climbed to the roofs a few houses over. He began to parkour in zig-zags.

Up ahead, Viola kicked in the door to the roof and dropped inside. Clint leaped and rolled, landing onto their building perfectly. Still kneeling, he threw his legs forward between his arms and slid to home base. He fell through the doorway and dropped to a crouch on the second floor of his and Viola's home for the past few months.

He caught his bow on pure reflex as she tossed it to him, followed by his quiver. He slipped it over his head and grabbed his knife collection from under the bed, slipping the knives he didn't already have on his person into the various pockets his clothing had. He ripped off the sleeves to his shirt and heard the distinct sound of cloth tearing from her side of the room as well. Now in short sleeves and equipped with his favourite weapons, he crept to the window.

Viola had taken off her outer layer so that she was in a long skirt and a tank top. There was a long slit up one side of the skirt which revealed a gun holster and a lot of leg. She threw open the closet doors and stuffed a gun in the holster before grabbing her signature adamantium fans. With one flick of her wrists, they snapped open, sharp and shiny under the sunlight.

They locked eyes. She nodded. He pressed a button on his quiver, then he stepped away from the wall and yanked an arrow free. He pulled it back and released. The arrow flew straight and true and lodged itself in a man's chest. The arrow exploded and took out three more men.

"Go," he ordered.

She was already gone.

He kept firing, arrow after arrow after arrow. A few seconds later, Viola came springing out from the front door. She threw her fan and it sliced through the air not unlike Steve's shield before slamming into a man's face and knocking him out cold. She ran after it, cartwheeling over his body with one hand and grabbing her fan with the other. She righted herself with a flip of her hair and engaged. An elbow to the face. A heel to the stomach. A twist of the arm.

Clint's lips twitched. "Never mind on that back-up, guys," he said into his comm. "We got this."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N. Hello all! Without further ado, the climax of _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_. Enjoy! :D**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

" _Falcon, status?"_

 _"Engaging."_

Tania had one ear tuned to the conversation on comms and and one on her surroundings as she ran for the checkpoint. Her and Sam's conspicuous entrance did not allow for stealth and so she was forced to run on her bad leg.

She burst into a hallway and kept jogging. The helicarrier had surprisingly good signage. A door opened to her right and she whacked a man through the doorway with her staff as she passed.

" _Alright, Cap, I'm in,"_ Sam announced.

"You put in the chip?" Tania asked, breathless.

 _"Uh, never mind. Not in!"_

"You okay?"

A beat of silence passed. " _Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."_

 _"Eight minutes, guys,"_ Hill prompted.

" _I'm on it,"_ Steve responded.

Tania pushed herself faster.

She skidded to a halt in front of a sign to read it. Through this door (and then some more doors). Right. She shoved it open and came face to face with two agents. She immediately engaged, knocking aside the outstretched arm and spinning before kicking out behind her. Her boot slammed into the first agent's gut and he fell back into his partner. She jumped over them both and kept running.

" _Alpha lock,"_ Steve said. He'd inserted his chip. _One down_.

The door to an important-looking room on the way to the checkpoint was guarded by two agents in heavy military gear. She ran for them both and jumped. She wrapped her legs around the left guard's helmet and grabbed the neck of the guard on the right and twisted. The three of them flipped and she rolled onto the floor much more smoothly than she had in the stairwell. She smiled to herself. Natasha would be proud.

 _"Falcon, where are you now?_ "

Tania shot them both with the ICER.

" _I had to take a detour."_

The door opened and Tania whirled around. A woman with short brown hair swung a knife. Tania leaned to the right to avoid it. The woman stepped forward and swung again. Tania grabbed her wrist and kept her grip tight as she spun underneath the woman's arm. Before Tania could ram the woman with her shoulder and complete the maneuver, the woman hooked her foot behind Tania's left ankle and yanked. The injured leg gave out and the two of them crashed to the floor. The staff clattered away.

 _"I'm in. Bravo lock."_

 _"Two down. One to go. Tania, status?"_

The woman broke free and rolled over the staff, picking it up in the process and holding it in front of her defensively. Tania pushed herself to her feet. "Working on it."

The woman lunged. Tania ducked and the staff swept over her head. While she was low, Tania scissored the woman's knees between both legs and rolled. The woman fell to the floor with a grunt. Tania crawled on top of her and grabbed her staff. For a moment, the two of them struggled for dominance.

The woman gained an ounce of strength and shoved the staff into Tania's chin. Her head snapped back and the staff broke in two. Tania knew that would happen and took advantage of the woman's surprise to yank both batons free and slam them both against the woman's head. She was out cold.

 _"Six minutes,"_ Hill reminded.

Tania's heart raced. "Almost there!" She could see the door to the navigation room. At that moment, maybe twenty agents came flooding into the hallway on both sides. Tania stood at the centre of a T-shaped corridor with the navigation room down the middle and hostiles on both sides.

 _"Need any help, Tania?"_ Asked Sam.

She twirled her batons anxiously. "It would be appreciated."

 _"On it,"_ Steve answered immediately. _"Hey Sam, I'm gonna need a ride."_

Taking a deep breath, Tania waited until one of the agents was close enough. Then she spun and swung her batons. The hallway was too narrow to fully use her staff, so batons would have to do.

 _"Roger. Let me know when you're ready."_

 _S_ he flipped the first man over her shoulder and into the oncoming pile of agents coming at her from behind. They toppled over like bowling pins.

 _"I just did!"_

She pulled out her ICER and fired until she was out of ammo, then she threw it like a projectile. It whacked one female agent in the head and she was out before she was ever in. Tania deflected a punch from a guy on her left and dug her knee into his stomach before shoving the same leg backward into the gut of a woman on her right. Fisting her hands into the left guy's vest, she cried out and forced him into the woman.

Tania bent forward and kicked back with her good leg as high and as hard she could. Her ankle hooked around the back of an agent's neck and she swung him down as her torso swung up. She slammed his face into the ground and landed in a crouch.

 _"Cap! Cap, come in! Are you okay?"_

 _Steve! What happened to Steve?_

A foot landed on her spine and she careened forward. The hallway was a mess of unconscious bodies and she found herself on a tangle of limbs. She rolled out of the way just as a knife came swinging at her throat. Tania pushed herself to her feet and wiped the blood from her chin from earlier.

 _"Yeah, I'm here." Thank God. "I'm still on the helicarrier. Where are you?"_

Tania should have been counting before, but she wasn't. All she knew was that there was now one man left standing and that Tania's back was now to the door she needed to go through. She was tempted to just run through it and slam the door in his face, but he had a projectile and he would never let her get that far.

He threw the knife, as she predicted, and she swatted it away with her baton. He ran at her and jumped, twirling in the air kick her in the head. She ducked and spun underneath him so that he landed with his back to the navigation room door, bouncing on the balls of his feet. This guy must have been a specialist. He looked too young to be an S.O.

 _"I'm grounded."_ Tania spun forward, swinging her batons with her. _"Suit's down. I'm sorry, Tania."_ She growled in frustration as both hits were blocked and she had to dodge two more.

"It's okay," she grunted. "I've got this." She leaned back as a foot swiped at the air in front her. While he was still turning she threw her right leg forward and kicked him right in the ass. He stumbled forward into a roll and she followed. While he was still down, she slammed her batons downward. He smoothly twisted out of the way and rose to his knees. He threw a punch which she blocked _(ow)_ and then another one. She, too, was on her knees. She leaned back and caught this punch with her batons before shoving his arm to the side across his torso so that his spine twisted and his back was to her. She brought up one leg and kicked him solidly in the ear. He went down hard, groaning. "Stay _down_!" She punctuated her words with slap across the face with one baton.

Panting, she pushed herself up, various spots on her body throbbing with pain.

 _"Falcon?"_ That was Hill.

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Rumlow's headed for the council."_

 _"I'm on it."_

She stepped over the nameless agent's body and reached the handle on the door to her destination. A single metal squeak was her only warning, but it was enough. She ducked as a metal arm broke through the wooden door as easily as a piece of paper. She turned and raised her arms, but he was fast. His boot cracked against her sternum and she crashed through the door, landing roughly on a metal walkway.

She blinked away the dust from the splintered door and looked up. The Winter Soldier loomed over her. "Steve, he's here," she breathed.

That seemed to set Bucky off and he stomped forward. She rolled backward over her shoulder and to her feet. She quickly clicked the batons together and spun the staff in front of her. Her thigh might not be burning, but the rest of her limbs were sore and tired and she didn't want to fight him.

 _"Almost there!"_

"Bucky," she said, walking backward. He matched her step for step. "Bucky stop. This isn't you."

Her words had no effect.

"Bucky, you are a good man and a great brother. Not just to Steve. You had three sisters. And a mother and a father. You had a family - a life before Hydra."

Nothing.

"My name is Tania Banks. You don't know me. You've never heard of me. But I know a heck of a lot about you because Steve told me about you. Steve Rogers. You remember him?"

Bucky's metal hand clenched into a fist. She could hear the mechanics of it whirring quietly. She was going to take that as a no.

"Bucky, I have to do this." Wrong thing to say. He pulled out a knife and threw it. She twirled her staff and deflected it while he ran toward her. She spun toward him, continuing the twirling motion with the staff, swinging it over her head and meeting him halfway. Her first hit was blocked by his metal arm. Quick as a whip, he hooked his flesh arm around it and twisted.

Tania stepped up onto the railing and twisted with him, flipping over his shoulder to land on the other side of him. She landed on her feet and wasted on time in ducking underneath her staff so that she was between it and Bucky, pretty much chest to chest with him while all of their hands still held it. She did what the woman agent had done to her earlier and brought her right leg around his left before kicking at the back of his knee. He buckled and fell backward. She leaned over him and jumped, tucking her head in and somersaulting onto the walkway just as Bucky let go of her staff on impact. She turned on her knees and swung at his face. He knocked the staff away and used the railing to yank himself to his feet.

They faced each other again, almost as if they had never moved at all. Tania spun her staff and locked it against her forearm behind her. Bucky stepped forward-

Steve materialized at the doorway and threw his shield. Bucky pivoted, caught it, continued the whirl and threw it right back. Tania swivelled and ran for the checkpoint. She typed in the code with shaking fingers, removing the chip from a pocket in the utility belt-

 _BANG!_

Her torso jerked forward and the arm with the chip fell slack. Her face rammed into the console and her feet tangled together as she went down. Only when she was lying on the walkway did the pain _really_ start to settle in. There was a _hole_ in her _shoulder_. _Two_ holes, actually. And _holy hell._

Fire imploded where the bullet tore through flesh and muscle and the blood did nothing to quell the heat that felt like it was searing her right shoulder. She couldn't breathe for fear of jostling it and she couldn't scream in pain. Her muscles seemed to be screaming for her. The spherical room disappeared and all she saw were camera flashes and sunspots.

Gunshots. Many gunshots. She fought to see past the blinding lights and the fireworks dancing in front of her. She fought to feel anything besides overwhelming pain. It was like a thousand wasps were stinging her shoulder on either side, over and over and _over_ again until her whole arm was numb.

The chip. She had to get the chip.

She blinked furiously. She was on a centre walkway between three catwalks. On the middle one, Steve and Bucky were fighting furiously with each other. She remembered where she was. That was good.

A new wave of pain washed over her and she groaned, her entire body vibrating with the sharpness of a knife stabbing every inch of her skin.

The chip. Where was it? _Where was it?_

Bucky and Steve flipped over the railing. _"No!"_

She heard them land harshly on something. More grunts and the sounds of a struggle. Something plastic clattered to the floor. _The chip_. Steve and Bucky were fighting for it. One of them must have gotten a hold of it when she blacked out for a minute. At least she knew where it was.

She didn't know how much time had passed-

 _"One minute,"_ said Hill.

Never mind. Time always passed so much slower when one was high on adrenaline. Steve was down at the bottom of the sphere and she was up here. How was he going to get it up here to plug it in? Even though the very thought made her want to cry, she raised her left arm and gripped the railing. Then she hauled herself closer to edge, crying out and smearing blood all over the floor.

She peered over the edge. Steve was on his way up. Maybe he could make it. Then she saw Bucky slowly getting up - reaching for his gun. "Steve!" She cried in warning.

 _BANG!_ Steve buckled and fell to one knee.

Her cheeks were hot with tears.

Steve stood and kept going. He jumped and grabbed hold of a bar. If he could just get a little higher-

 _BANG!_ One arm slipped and he grunted.

"Steve!" She cried again, reached her left arm down. "Give it to me! Give it to me!"

He looked up. Their eyes met. God, what awful shape they were both in. He reared his arm back and launched the chip her way. It blew past her and landed beside her. She dove for it and crawled back over to the console.

 _"Thirty seconds!"_ Came Hill's slightly panicked voice.

She could do this. She was trained by Black Widow and Hawkeye, the best of the best, to be the best that she could be. She'd made it this far and she'd be damned if one bullet was going to stop her from saving millions of lives.

Using her good arm and good leg, she pushed herself up to stand and leaned against the side of the console. She pulled out the targeting chip with a shaking hand.

 _BANG!_

A bullet ripped through her midsection and she jerked again, barely catching herself on the counter.

Fuck this.

She slammed the chip in place and collapsed, rattling the walkway with her weight. The pain was a haze now - a wave of fire and poison throughout her entire body, of which her shoulder and abdomen seemed to be the origins.

Steve clawed his way on top of the walkway to join her, breathing hard. Her own breaths were wet and ragged and blood began to climb up her throat. She choked on it, turning her head to the side in an attempt to let it leak out of the side of her mouth. "Charlie lock," she mumbled somewhat coherently.

The helicarrier began to rumble as Steve army-crawled towards her. She fumbled for his hand with her good one and missed a few times before grasping it. She held it so tightly that she didn't think she'd ever let go.

 _"Alright, guys, get out of there._ "

Tania laughed and regretted it immediately, closing her eyes to the immense pain. Her nerves were frayed and she could _feel_ the hole in her stomach and her muscles. She was bleeding all over the place now. She wasn't going anywhere like this.

Steve caught her gaze. He himself had at least two bullet wounds and what looked like a stab wound. She shook her head minutely. He nodded and raised his other wrist to his face. "Fire now."

There was a pause. _"But Steve-"_

 _"_ Do it!" He barked. "Do it now!"

They only had to wait a couple of seconds before the helicarrier started _really_ shaking. Missiles were fired two dozen at a time and the entire vehicle rattled with each hit. The railways and beams above and to the side began to break. One at a time, each walkway detached from the the centre console, falling to the bottom of the sphere. Tania could hear glass shatter.

Bucky yelled in pain.

She locked eyes with Steve. Neither of them were leaving at all, let alone without Bucky. But Steve at least looked mobile enough to stand. She forced her fingers to slacken in his gloved hand. "Go to him," she whispered. "Make him remember. Before we all forget."

His eyes widened and he tightened his grip on her hand. "You're coming with me."

She almost smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."

Steve dragged himself closer. "Wherever I go, I want you with me. We do this together. I'll carry you if I have to."

"Go to him," she repeated.

"I'm not letting you out my sight. Not… not when…" His eyes strayed to her blood-soaked suit.

"You're a… stubborn son of a bitch, you know that?"

He laughed, sniffling as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Come on. Up you get." He shoved his knee underneath him and gathered her in his arms. Then he stood, panting from exertion. She could feel his shield underneath her, slung on his arm, but not much else. She was going numb. "Hold on," he whispered. Then he jumped.

There was air whipping around her and then she was jostled, but she didn't really notice much besides that. He set her down on a square of glass that had yet to break, her back leaning against one of the fallen walkways. Then he stumbled over to Bucky, who was trapped underneath the other walkway. He saw Steve and Tania could see real fear etched into his face. He redoubled his efforts to get free, but he had no leverage with both his arms trapped.

Even while dying, Tania felt more sorry for Bucky than she had ever felt for anyone in her life.

The helicarrier slammed into something and Steve fell with the force of the blow. Sam's voice echoed in her ears, screaming and panicked. _"Please tell me you got that chopper in the air!"_

 _"Where are you?"_ Natasha. She was okay. And they had a chopper.

 _"41st floor! Northwest corner!"_

 _"We're on it! Stay where you are!"_

 _"NOT AN OPTION!"_

No one said anything. "Sam," Tania wheezed. "Sam, are you okay?"

" _Fine,_ " came Sam's breathless reply. " _Ish_. _Can't say the same for Rumlow._ "

 _"Tania! Where are you?"_

Tania smiled. Nat and Sam were safe. That was good. "Still… here."

 _"What are you doing? Get out of there!"_

"Nat…" Tania breathed. "I can't leave him."

 _"Is Steve hurt?"_

She groaned. "Him too. But I meant Bucky."

Steve gave a guttural cry and heaved the walkway into the air. Bucky wriggled free and Steve dropped it.

 _"Tania, don't be stupid."_

"Too late."

What followed was a string of Russian curses.

Steve and Bucky were both breathing hard and clinging to something so that they didn't fall through the holes in the glass sphere. "You know me," Steve stated. Embers flew around them from the destruction to the other parts of the helicarrier. What a horrible time for a symbol of their love to be flying around.

"No I don't!" Bucky screamed and threw a punch that Steve barely managed to block with his shield. Even so, Steve stumbled backward and fell on his ass. But he got back up again.

He always got back up.

"Bucky," he pleaded, "You've known me your whole life."

Bucky looked up, eyes red-rimmed and wide. She saw no recognition there, only fear and confusion, each embedded so deeply inside him that she wondered how she never saw it before.

Bucky lashed out with his metal arm. The force behind the swing sent them both to the floor.

This was painful to watch.

"Your name… is James… Buchanan… Barnes."

"SHUT UP!" Bucky howled, his voice scratching against his vocal chords as he threw another punch. Steve hit the glass again.

Tania sobbed. "Stop. Please, stop."

Bucky looked at her, _really_ looked at her, and saw nothing. She was no one he knew. She was just a woman who knew his name.

Steve ripped off his helmet and stumbled to his feet. "I'm not gonna fight you." He let his beloved shield slip from his arm and fall between the cracks into the river below them. He would mourn that later - if there was a later.

 _I didn't mean you, you idiot._

"You're my friend."

Bucky pushed himself to his feet and they stared at each other. Tania stared at Bucky, searching, _wishing_ , for some flicker of recognition. Anything. She saw hesitation, but it wasn't enough.

Bucky roared and surged forward, tackling Steve like a football player. No. _No._ She couldn't let him go out like this. She couldn't let either of them die beating the shit out of each other. She sobbed and began to move.

"YOU'RE MY MISSION!" Metal smashed into flesh and bone repeatedly, punctuated with Bucky's mantra. "YOU'RE! MY! MISSION!"

She flung herself over the beam and landed roughly on her spine. She coughed up more blood. Rolling over, she crawled toward the both of them. "You're confused," she spluttered, but she was pretty sure she went unheard. Bucky was trying to convince himself that Steve was nothing more than a target. But the word "trying" hinted that deep down he knew there was _something_ there.

"Then finish it," Steve whispered. Bucky hesitated, panting, metal fist poised to do just that. "Because I'm with you… til the end of the line." His face was a painting of bruises and mottled flesh and blood.

Bucky's face was hidden behind a curtain of brown hair.

He didn't finish it. But he didn't let go either. He sat there, torn between two extremes: protect the man he was ordered to kill, or kill the man he'd sworn to protect.

A giant piece of the helicarrier came crashing through the bottom of the globe. Tania rolled away and wrapped herself around a metal beam just as the glass beneath her shattered. She looked down.

Steve fell backward toward the ocean, his eyes closed or swollen shut. _"NO!"_ She screamed, eyes glued to the red, white, and blue form losing altitude. All the pain from her shoulder and her stomach disappeared. Her entire world narrowed to a pinprick through which Steve crashed into the potomac. She lost him amidst the debris.

He wasn't dead. People don't die that quickly. He could swim. He could make it. If anyone could survive that fall, Steve could.

 _His eyes were closed_.

She dared not think about it.

Squeezing the tears out of her eyes, Tania looked up and saw Bucky, hanging from a beam like she was, staring wide-eyed at the approaching river. She tried to get a read on him, but he was just a mess of emotions that he didn't know how to deal with.

"Bucky," she croaked.

He looked up.

Her heart hammered in her chest at the possibilities of what that meant. "You could have killed me with one shot." She gulped. "Why didn't you?" If she was going to convince him to save Steve, she needed to get through to him first.

He didn't seem to have an answer. Instead of aiming for her head or her chest, he'd gotten her in the shoulder. It made her drop the chip, but it didn't take her out of the equation like it should've. She should be dead right now. But she wasn't.

He shook his head, expression frozen in panic.

She licked her lips (and tasted blood). Whatever she was going to say, she had to make it good. They didn't have long. "Bucky, you are a good man. You're a war hero. You're a fantastic older brother. And even if nothing I'm saying means anything to you, even if you don't remember anything, please believeme. You don't know me, but you knew him." She nodded at the water. "And he loves you. It doesn't matter if you remember. But you made a promise to him that you'd be there until the end of the line."

He looked away.

"Even if you don't feel like Bucky, you used to be him and that means everything to Steve. Please, if you only do one more thing for him, just _please…_ keep that promise."

Every second that passed, the helicarrier descended toward the river, but Tania couldn't really bring herself to care. Before she died, she was going to get through to Bucky, damn it. Even if just a little bit.

Besides, she reasoned, she'd already drowned once. What was one more time? Faced with the inevitability of falling victim to the very thing that had traumatized her for months, she simply brushed it off. It would happen and she could do nothing to stop it. Acceptance felt much nicer than sheer terror.

Bucky looked back up again, meeting her gaze for what felt like the very first time. He moved his lips as if to say something, but nothing came out. Then: "He loves you."

She sucked in a sharp breath. She hardly dared believe that she or Steve might have made a dent in all that brainwashing. "He loves us both."

The helicarrier hit. The world shuddered and groaned as the weight of the massive vehicle bent and snapped under the pressure. Glass exploded all around them, raining down into the Potomac. Walkways popped apart and creaked as they dropped toward them. All the while, Bucky and Tania never looked away from each other.

Tania's beam cracked in two and she slipped. It wasn't a far drop to the water, but it felt like a lifetime.

It always came back to this, didn't it? Falling. She was always falling. Falling for Steve. Falling from buildings. Falling from the Statue of Liberty. Falling into depression. Falling, falling, _falling_.

She felt limp and numb as she fell now, staring up at the destruction they'd caused. They did it. They stopped Hydra. They saved all those people. They managed to trigger something in Bucky (she hoped). The world was safe.

She hit the water like it was concrete and blacked out.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N. Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting, but I just saw CIVIL WAR! *squeals* No spoilers, but I will say that it DEFINITELY lives up to the hype (in my opinion) and is the best MCU film to date. Solid 9.5/10. I know you guys didn't ask for a review of the film, but I'm giving it anyway xD Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoy(ed) Civil War!**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

Clint whistled, eyeing the damage. "You did good," he complimented. "We make a good team."

Viola grinned at him and sheathed her fans. "Thanks. I think so too."

Bodies littered the desert sands all around them. Some groaned in pain, others were out cold, many had arrows in their limbs, and a select few were either cowering in fear or running for their lives.

"I see why they call you Hawkeye," Viola commented, stepping over an unconscious man to reach Clint.

He shrugged in response. Folding his bow, he began scanning their surroundings for a way out of here. They couldn't just walk through the desert and hope they stumbled upon civilization eventually. Dagan Shah's base was strategically placed in the middle of nowhere so that unhappy customers and competing dealers like the Ten Rings couldn't find them. It was smart, yet stupid at the same time because there were limited ways out and limited resources.

Clint's sharp eyes spotted a jeep a few hundred yards away that looked to be in driveable condition. He gestured for Viola to follow him. "Come on. I found us a way outta here."

She trekked after him without hesitation. "To where?"

"Romanoff and I have safe houses all over the globe, including one in Egypt. I can take us there."

"Won't SHIELD- er, Hydra know about them?"

"Not these ones. Nat and I wanted a plan in case we ever needed to get away from SHIELD. We've got money and necessities in each one - everything we could ever need."

Viola was silent for a while, kicking at the sand dunes in her path. "Did the two of you ever think about what you'd do after SHIELD?"

Clint hummed. "Sometimes, but we both agreed that we probably wouldn't live long enough to try. We get some of the most dangerous missions SHIELD has to offer. We're grateful to have lived this long at all."

"But what if you did survive?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Hopefully we'd be old and grey with enough money that we could just settle down somewhere."

"So you never considered getting a different job?"

He didn't answer for a few seconds. "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought about it a bit, but it's become my life since then, you know? SHIELD is the only place I can be that let's me be who I am. SHIELD _is_ who I am." He frowned.

"I can't believe it either," she mumbled. _SHIELD_ … Hydra. They had been working with and for an evil Nazi division for years. They'd been _friends_ with some of them! It was impossible to wrap her head around.

"But that was before the Avengers," Clint said almost proudly. "Now I have a place to live, people I care about and who care about me, a team, and a job. I mean, being an Avenger doesn't pay in cash, but Stark's rich enough to fund us until our grandchildren Avengers have grandchildren Avengers."

Viola laughed. "Is that what you see in your future? Your children becoming superheroes?"

He sobered up again. "Well… for some of us… yeah, I could see that."

"But…?" She prompted.

He shook his head. "It was never in the cards for Natasha and me. SHIELD was too dangerous. We didn't want to bring a kid into that kind of life, you know? Biologically or otherwise."

She nodded. She did know - to an extent - what being a child whose parent was a SHIELD agent was like. She'd lost her father to a SHIELD mission-

She stopped in her tracks, a horrible thought crossing her mind.

What if Hydra had her father killed in a way that looked like he was just a casualty on a mission? What if he'd caught on to them and so they'd scratched him off the list? What if …?

"Hey."

She looked up at Clint with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?"

She felt her eyes water. "My… my dad… he was killed in the field. But what if…?" She swallowed hard. Saying things out loud was a lot harder than thinking them. "What if Hydra had him killed?" She asked quietly, holding a hand to her stomach. She felt sick. She had _joined_ them to be like her father. She had put her faith and trust in them and even _respected_ them.

"Hey," Clint said again, grabbing her shoulder. "We don't know that."

She sucked in a breath. He was right. This was all speculation. But still. She had to know. "I'll look into it when we're back on home soil," she decided, shoving all of those worries in a mental box and kicking it under the table. She had a whole slew of problems to face here in Africa before she thought about who murdered her father.

She started walking again and despite her efforts to stop thinking about it, the possibilities loomed over her, never dominating her focus but always there at the back of her mind.

Clint's hand dropped from her shoulder and he easily matched her pace. It was silent all the way to the jeep. Clint hopped into the driver's seat and Viola ducked into the passenger side. After some hot-wiring, the two of them were tearing out of the compound, leaving clouds of sand in their wake.

* * *

It took some maneuvering to cross the Egyptian border, but they managed. It only took them about an hour and half's worth of driving over sand dunes to reach a populated area. "It's called Siwa Oasis," Clint explained as he steered, one hand on the wheel and the other arm casually bent over the shoulder of his seat. "It's a pretty isolated settlement around a body of water that Natasha and I discovered once when we got lost." He glanced over at Viola just in time to see her questioning gaze. "Long story. Anyway, its economy relies heavily on tourism, so we can pose as tourists."

"How did you manage to get a house here?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "The owner… may have died."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I didn't kill him!" He sounded exasperated. "He just… conveniently died when we needed a place to stay."

"Right."

"Believe what you want. You're lucky I'm sharing this with you."

She turned away to stare at the never-ending hills of sand. After a while of fanning herself with her metal fans and stewing over everything that had happened, Viola turned back to her partner. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Sharing this with me. You didn't have to."

He waved away her thanks. "I wasn't going to just leave you there. Not after three months of marriage."

She snorted. "Well… thanks anyway."

"You're very welcome."

They fell into silence again, the humidity hot and heavy against their skin. They'd been in this desert since the beginning of July and the heat had been much worse than this. They'd become mostly acclimated to the weather but a desert was a desert and the lack of food and water they'd brought with them didn't help.

"Do you even know where we're going?" She asked out of the blue, shielding her eyes from the sun and squinting at the windshield.

"I know where it is," he answered.

"Clint…" she said in a warning tone.

"I know it's East, alright? And besides, JARVIS is keeping me on track."

Right. The artificial intelligence permanently embedded into his good ear. Viola felt _so_ much better.

They eventually pulled up to the oasis, stopping to enjoy the view. The water was a deep green and sparkled under the sun, rippling gracefully onto the beach. The earth surrounding it was darker, thicker. Viola unhooked her boots and curled her toes in the hot sand, closing her eyes.

SHIELD was Hydra. Hydra was SHIELD. There was nothing to be done about her past choices. All she could do now was choose to fight Hydra and everything it stood for. Surely she wasn't alone. Not all of SHIELD could possibly want to take away mankind's freedom. It was a safe bet that the Avengers were staunch supporters of free will and civil liberties. Sharon couldn't be Hydra. Viola refused to believe it. Sharon was her best friend. There was no way she could something like that.

What about her old tac team? Were they Hydra? Could their possible associations with Nazism explain their sexism?

What about Fury? Surely he was against Hydra. While a large part of his past was classified, what she did know classified him as a war hero and spy who wanted to protect the world, not take away its current order. And Hill? Viola wasn't sure. Hill had always been a boring stick-in-the-mud, always slightly detached from everyone else, cold and calculating. But Fury trusted her. That had to mean something.

The sound of feet scrunching in the dirt alerted her to Clint's presence. She knew that he could be quiet as a mouse when he wanted to be, so the fact that he was making noise meant that he wanted to be heard. She opened one eye to peek at him.

He was copying her, shoes in one hand, toes digging into the ground. Then he stepped forward, and forward, and forward. He kept going, wading into the shallow water until he was knee deep. He turned and grinned at her like a little kid.

She grinned back and tossed her shoes aside before running into the water, her fleet slapping against the surface and making loud splashes. Her skirt darkened from moisture and grew heavy. She grabbed the ends and hitched it until it was just above her knee and tied a large knot on one side.

Feeling significantly cooler, she kicked at the water, splashing Clint up to his ribs. He gasped at the cold and instinctively curled in on himself. She took advantage and pressed her foot to his sternum. He went down with an "oof!" and a splash. She doubled over, giggling. A calf caught her ankle and her leg flew out from under her. With a gasp, her back hit the water and she was submerged.

The water was just as gorgeous a colour beneath the surface as above, shimmering with sea greens and turquoise blues. She spotted Clint easier and kicked off the sand, diving for him. He dodged to the left and she followed. He rolled into water so shallow that he popped up for air, pushed himself to his feet and started sprinting. Viola, laughing, grabbing her boots and took off after him. Drenched and cool and happy, she chased him around the river's edge until they reached town. They got very strange looks but neither of them minded.

After she'd tagged him and yelled "You're it!", Clint led her through the streets at a leisurely pace. They passed a beautiful mosque and Viola wished she had her phone with her to take a picture. It was not long before they were approaching a small, nondescript bungalow in the middle of the residential area.

Instead of going in the front way, Clint snaked around the back. "I hid the key somewhere in town. I kind of want to dry off before I go get it," he explained. At the back of the house, he felt along the wall until something changed and he pressed his palm to it. A square of blue light lit up around his hand, scanning it.

Viola's eyebrows shot up.

Clint caught the look and shrugged, dropping his hand. "What? It's called a 'safe house' for a reason." The door clicked open. He turned the handle and opened it wide. The house was dark, as all of the windows had been covered, presumably from the last time Barton or Romanoff had been here. He stepped inside and held the door open for Viola, smiling.

"I thought safe houses were supposed to be inconspicuous?" She asked as she entered, squinting in the sudden change of lighting. The shade felt nice.

"That's why the scanner is in the back."

She rolled her eyes-

A boot landed in her stomach and forced her backward. She knocked into Clint who fell into the already closing door, slamming it shut and shrouding them in darkness. Two hands found her wrists and tried to twist them one way, but she forced them to go the other, pushing off of Clint and kicking straight in front of her. Her calf hit right between a man's legs and he let go with a squeal of pain. She spun and whacked her foot against his temple, blinking furiously to try and make her eyes adjust faster.

Clint's cry of pain had her whirling around. "Barton! Ugh!" A boot kicked one of her knees so that she fell into a kneel. She kicked backward with her other foot and hit nothing. Suddenly there was an arm around her throat wasting no time in choking the light out of her. She dug her nails into the person's clothed forearm and tried to stand, but it became evident that her attacked was also kneeling. She was in no position to flip them over her shoulder, so she'd have to do this the alternative way.

She rammed her elbow back, hitting what she knew to be an abdomen. The person doubled over, but didn't let up even a little. She could feel her face going red and her eyes widening. She thew one foot forward and found the door. Pushing off of it, she shoved the both of them backward. She heard their skull crack against the floor and he released her.

Gasping, she rolled away as spots danced in front of her, even in utter blackness. "Barton!" She coughed, trying to find him. There wasn't a single source of light in this entire house. "Clint!"

Muffled grunts and groans to her left. A kick came out of nowhere and smashed her across the face. With a cry, she spun and went down, crashing onto her stomach.

She needed to find a source of light. She needed to open the door.

Rolling away, she heard a foot stomp on the floor where she'd just been. She pushed herself to her feet, trying to orient herself in a room that was suddenly spinning. She bolted for what she thought was the door and ran into the wall. She ran her hands along the smooth rock, feeling for wood or hinges or _something_.

Someone grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked, throwing her across the room and to the floor. The water from the oasis was weighing her down as she struggled to push herself up. "Show yourself!" She barked, angry now. They weren't playing fair. They obviously had some sort of night vision goggles or some sort of advantage to be winning a fight like this. They were cheating.

"Viola!" The door burst open and light flooded what turned out to be a bare foyer. There were four attackers, two on Clint, two approaching her. As soon as the sunlight shone inside, each of them covered their eyes and reached for their goggles. Viola lunged for the closest two and swung her legs around while holding all of her weight on her hands. She tripped them both up and flipped to standing, shifting her feet and hands into a fighting stance.

While the two of them crawled to all fours, she jumped and stepped on both of them. They cried out and went back down again, where she punched them both into submission.

"Viola!" Clint cried again.

She whipped around, hair flying, in time to see Clint tackle a man who'd been about to come at her with a knife from behind. The two of them wrestled for a moment before Clint gained the upper hand and knocked him out. All four lay on the ground, limp and unconscious.

Panting slightly, Viola stood, wiping sweat or oasis water from her brow. "Thanks," she said.

"Don't mention it," he breathed, standing before bending over and grabbing his knees, which shook.

"Clint?" She stepped closer, finally noticing the blood dripping down his side. He'd been stabbed. She rushed over to take a look, kneeling beside him and gently pushing his torn shirt to the side. It wasn't just dripping; it was oozing, pouring, _gushing_ blood and it dribbled all down his leg.

Thinking quickly, she held out one leg and untied the knot of her skirt. It fell to its full length around her, pooling at her feet. She grabbed the side of the slit she'd made earlier about halfway up and tore all the way around. Half the skirt came away easily, the ripping sound loud in the silence of the house. "This won't hold for long," she warned, wrapping it around him like she'd been taught. "It's really thin material."

"It's fine," he gasped, looking paler by the second. "I've had worse."

"Of course you have," she mumbled under her breath, yanking the makeshift bandage as tight as it would go.

He sucked in a breath, straightening. "The safe house was compromised."

"No shit."

"It had to be Hydra."

She glanced at the fallen men. Sure enough, the SHIELD insignias were emblazoned on each of their shoulders. It made her want to vomit. She stood and grabbed his arm, looping it around her shoulders so that she could help him walk.

"I'm fine," he protested.

"Shut up, Barton. Where's the medical kit?"

"We can't stay here."

"I know. Where's the kit? I'll grab it and we can go."

He shook his head with a sigh. "In the bathroom. Through there." He nodded at the doorway furthest to the left. Slipping out of his grip, she went to fetch the kit. She spotted it easily under the sink and swiped it, returning to Clint and helping him walk out of there.

"You said this was a possible tourist attraction right?"

"Yeah."

"So let's find a hotel."

He shook his head again. "No. This whole place is too dangerous. Hydra knows where here. It won't take them long to search the entire oasis. We need to leave."

She frowned, thinking. "Well, those agents had to have gotten here somehow."

"They must've flown in. Good thinking."

"Unless they were dropped off."

"In which case they'd need pick up once their mission was done."

They stopped, turned, and stared at the house. "I'll grab one of their comms," she decided, leaving Clint to his own devices for a few seconds while she went to grab it. Just as she did, it crackled to life.

 _"Tac Team Omega, what's your's status?"_

Hesitating, Viola pressed the button on the comm. "Mission complete. Requesting extraction." She tried to make her voice lower to disguise it.

A beat. _"Who is this?"_

Shit. "… Hail Hydra?"

Communication cut off immediately. She ran back out to Clint, heart beating faster. "Their handler called," she admitted, fingering the device in her ear. "I tried to request pick-up but let's just say the request was denied."

"Did he recognize you?"

"He recognized that I wasn't one of his agents and that I knew that he was Hydra."

"So basically he knows it's us."

"Basically."

"Okay, well that's good. That means he'll send reinforcements if Hydra really wants us dead. Those reinforcements have to have transportation that we can hijack."

She nodded, seeing where this was going. "Right. We need a strategic place to fight."

"We also need to get away from civilians."

She looked around. It was either fight in the middle of the oasis with lots of things to hide behind and lots of civilians in danger or fight in the middle of the desert where you were out in the open but not in danger of killing anybody. There was no in-between. "We'll have to make a run for it to get far enough away, assuming that reinforcements are close by." She tried to make eye contact with him to see if he was okay with her choice.

He seemed to be. "Let's back to the jeep."

Still soaking wet, the two of them walked back the way they came. Everyone stared, but Viola and Clint were saving their lives by walking away so they paid them no mind.

Once they reached the vehicle, Clint plopped down in the passenger seat with a grunt. Viola stepped onto the rubber shelf just below the floor of the jeep to stand higher and cracked open the medical kit.

"What are you doing?" Clint, still gripping his side, shifted away from her.

"Patching you up before we have to fight." She picked up a needle and thread. "I don't have any alcohol, unfortunately."

Confused, he eyed her suspiciously. "Every kit has some."

"Not the good kind."

"Ah." He nodded in realization, sitting back. "I could've use some of that."

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

They'd only driven for about ten minutes before the roar of a jet's engine tore through the air above them. Sand began to swirl in tornadoes that flicked into Viola's eyes and clung to her damp skin and clothes. She braked hard and the vehicle jerked forward. Clint jumped out of the jeep first. "Run!"

Viola hopped out and looked up. The jet was descending - right on top of them.

She dove to the side and rolled into the sand twice before popping up in a crouch, one fan drawn and flipped open. The jet hovered mere inches above the roof of the car, its engines glowing.

It was a quinjet, SHIELD-issue, which meant that it was probably Hydra. Viola wasn't taking any chances. She glanced at Clint, who had rolled to the other side of the jet and pulled out his bow. He nodded at her and drew an arrow.

The hangar door of the jet released and slowly lowered. Viola's heart thundered. _Friend or foe?_ Could it be Sharon? Sharon knew she was here, but she was also on assignment to protect Captain Rogers and Agent Banks. Could it be their handler, here to fight them for not dying like they were "supposed" to?

The tops of helmeted heads came into view, followed by goggles, kevlar, and heavy guns and artillery. "Hydra!" She yelled and ran to the left. Bullets peppered the dunes behind her, sand exploding among the swirls. She kicked up yet more sand as she tried to find traction. She could hear nothing over the humming jet and her pounding heart.

Clint caught up with her and they both ran. The jet followed before setting down just in front of the jeep, narrowly missing it as its wheels popped out. Immediately, the Hydra agents jumped out and gave chase.

Viola knew that she and Clint couldn't get too far. They needed that jet to get out of here. They had to circle back around. They nodded at each other and each curved in opposite directions. With a flick of her wrist, her other fan unfolded and she held the both of them in front of her like shields as she sprinted. Bullets bounced off of them harmlessly, the adamantium impervious to most weapons. When she was close enough, she threw her arms to the side and jumped.

There were five agents. They stood in a straight line but as soon as she or Clint tried to pass them, they backed into a circle. An arrow found its mark and one went down, the arrow protruding from his throat. Viola sliced at the sling of the gun and it felt to the ground with its weight. She spun and sliced at skin all around her. Several cries of pain followed, so she kept going. She twisted and kicked, elbowed, sliced, and danced until they were all on the ground.

"Stevenson!"

She turned. Clint threw an agent off the ramp of the jet and into the sand. He looked at her. "Come on!" He waved her over with big, rushed movements of his arms.

She ran, folding her fans and sheathing them as she did-

 _BANG!_

Her legs faltered as her brain fumbled with what the heck just happened.

 _Thwip!_

Someone behind her gurgled and fell silent.

She stumbled and fell, face planting in the sand.

"Viola!"

She'd been shot before. In the arm. In the leg. A graze at her side. But never in the back. She could feel the blood drain from her face, which made sense since most of it seemed to be pooling around her, oozing from behind.

Stunned, she tried to move her arms, push herself up maybe, but they were stiff and unhelpful. All of her focus was on the bullet hole. She could feel her insides being torn. She could feel something very, very _wrong_ with her body and it fucking _hurt_.

Clint's large hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled. She knew it was Clint because everyone else was unconscious. She'd been _sure_ that she'd knocked all of those guys out. Maybe she'd miscounted. Maybe one of them had woken up. Maybe the world was out to get her.

Right. She had to breathe. Gasping, she tried to move her legs as Clint practically dragged her to the jet. While her arms were stiff, her legs were like jello and they flopped in the sand. All of her senses honed in on the wound and that made it hurt _more_.

The only thing that was hot now was the blood pouring from her in tidal waves. Weakly, she pressed her left hand to it, the other hand too occupied over Clint's shoulder. Her left hand was so red she may as well have been wearing a glove.

The bullet was still in there. She could _feel_ it lodged into something. She wasn't super familiar with human anatomy but whatever it was, it felt important. God, the metal was fucking _warm_.

She was hyperventilating.

"Just sit tight, okay? I gotta get us in the air. Keep pressure on that wound." Then Clint was gone and she was sitting on a bench inside the jet. When did they get in here?

She leaned back and rested her head against the wall. She'd been in jets like this one dozens of times over the course of her run at SHIELD. Never had she felt so simultaneously disgusted are relieved at the sight of it.

She pushed both hands harder into her wound, grinding out her pain through her teeth. It burned like being dumped in a vat of oil. Her blood was boiling, making her sweat as she writhed on the bench and tried not to cry.

It was significantly cooler on the jet. There was no sun in the back and the A/C was definitely on. Clint must have turned it up. The quinjet thrummed suddenly harder and began to rise. Panting, Viola reached for the med kit beside her with the hands of Lady Macbeth. She missed a few times and stretched the wound the wrong way and cried out, but she grabbed it and pulled it toward her. With one shaking hand, she fumbled with the latch and popped it open.

Staining everything with blood, she thrust her hand inside and searched for the tweezers. As soon as her fingers brushed metal, she yanked them out. Her hand was practically vibrating. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

Oh God, that made the pain _worse_.

She opened her eyes and Clint was there, plucking the tweezers from her weak grip and disinfecting it before digging it into her side. She screamed and tensed immediately, her legs jerking upward. She narrowly missed kneeing him in the ribs. She clawed at the bench beside her for something to cling to. She found the seatbelt on either side and pulled as hard as she could. They resisted and she pulled harder as the tweezers swished around in her bullet hole.

She twisted her wrists around the seatbelt and kept pulling, screaming and trying to jerk away from him but knowing that he had to do this. The alcohol stung like a bitch and she wanted nothing more than to kick him away, fall into unconsciousness, and hope it was gone by morning. But she knew that was illogical so here she was.

Finally, _finally_ , the tweezers clamped around the bullet and dragged it out of her. The metal was gone. Her body fell slack and she slumped to the side. Clint caught her and laid her down on the bench gently. She blinked up at him. He was also pale, even at this angle with the light above him and his face cast in shadow. She glanced down. His makeshift bandages were completely soaked through.

She tried to laugh, but the hole in her side didn't think that was a good idea. "We match."

He shook his head. Maybe it was in amusement or denial or disappointment or exasperation or just to tell her she was wrong. She couldn't tell anymore. "I was stabbed. You were shot. Big difference."

"Same spot, though."

He looked down. He snorted. "What do you know? Twinsies?"

Laughing felt good, even when it hurt so damn much. She grabbed his hand. "Twinsies."

 **A/N. Siwa Oasis is a real place near the Libyan-Egyptian border. I apologize for any inaccuracies or unintentional offense (if any). If you notice something wrong or inaccurate, please PM and I'll fix it ASAP.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N. Hello! Back to Tania and Steve this time. We finally get to learn what happened after the fall of SHIELD! (Well, _you_ get to learn ;) ). Without further ado, please enjoy! :D**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

She was breathing. She knew that much. Her mind felt cloudy and slow, like someone had hit the play button one too many times. The air felt… false. Cold. There was something on her face. Plastic? She couldn't be bothered to move her arms to feel what it was. It wasn't restricting her airways so she was fine.

It was kind of peaceful, actually, lying here, wherever here is. She was pretty sure that she knew where she was, but consciously thinking about it seemed like too much work. Her thoughts were languid and flowing like waves on the shore; like her breath.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

"No, of course I don't mind."

Tania's bubble of dreamless, thoughtless drifting popped and her peace began to drain away. Her head twitched, turning toward the sound.

"If you trust her, then so do I." There was a pause during which Tania started to regain feeling in her fingers. There was something clipped to her right index finger. Someone laughed, soft, like they were trying to be quiet. Like a whisper. "No, I promise, it's fine. She's welcome as long as she wants."

It was Natasha.

"Well that's your fault for not telling me earlier."

Tania tried to take a deep breath, but the oxygen mask she was wearing wouldn't let her. Her eyes fluttered open. She shifted her focus from her lungs to her sight. Everything was blurry and white but there was a blob of red to the right. That must be Natasha.

"Clint, she's awake."

Clint. Natasha was talking to Clint. Tania didn't see any blobs except Natasha. She was probably speaking on the phone.

"Tania?"

She closed her eyes and tried to groan, but nothing came out.

"Tania?"

Realizing that she can't acknowledge Natasha verbally, she forced her eyelids to lift once again and met her gaze, her vision clearing for the first time in what felt like a very long time.

Natasha's green eyes came into focus, distinguishable amongst all that bright red hair. Pale skin pinched slightly to form a slightly concerned expression, lips parted as she waited for a response. A Starkphone was held loosely by her ear.

Tania's hand tingled with pins and needles, but she moved it anyway, inching toward where one of Natasha's hands rested on the sheets. Their fingers brushed. Natasha looked down and grabbed Tania's hand. When she looked up, she had a small smirk. "Guess you can hear me, then."

Tania tried to nod but wasn't sure if she succeeded. Her head felt heavier than usual. Instead, she squeezed lightly

Natasha smiled before angling her mouth toward the phone. "Clint, I'm gonna put you on speaker. Tania can't talk at the moment, but she can hear you." She pressed a button and set the phone on the bed, near their hands.

 _"Hi, Tania."_

A smile threatened to tug at her lips. She hadn't heard his voice in so long. She squeezed Natasha's hand again, stronger this time.

"She says hi," Natasha translated, speaking up so that Clint could hear. She reached over and pressed a button to call the nurse.

" _I want you to know that I'm safe. We both are."_

It took Tania a second to remember who he was with if it wasn't Natasha. Viola. Right. Mission in Africa. _Months-long_ mission in Africa.

 _"I also want you to know that you did good."_

Did good? What did she do? She looked to Natasha, pulling her brows together slightly.

Natasha seemed to read her expression and scooted closer. "It's okay if you don't remember. You will later. You're still healing and you need rest. It's just… it's really good to see you awake."

How long has she been out?

Clint voiced her thoughts.

"A few days," Natasha replied. "The surgeries were… complicated, but nothing the doctors couldn't fix."

A few days? Surgeries? Complicated? What the hell happened?

As if sensing her growing unease, Natasha placed her other hand on top of Tania's and gently hushed her. "I will explain everything. I promise. But right now you need rest."

What? No!

 _"Alright, Tania. I'll see you soon, okay?"_

 _Wait! Don't go!_ She wanted answers. Where was he? Why was he suddenly able to have long phone conversations with them when he couldn't before?

At that moment, a nurse entered the room with a calming smile. "Well look who's awake."

Natasha hung up the phone and stood, removing her hands from Tania's. "I have to go deliver something to Steve. It figures the one time I try to find him, he's not where he usually is." She shook her head fondly and kept speaking; something about a quick return and not knowing she was gone, but Tania stopped paying attention.

 _Steve_.

The new haircut. Drew's arrival. Steve's detachedness. Fury's assassination. Pierce. Hydra. Sam. Falcon. Winter Soldier. Fury's alive. Helicarriers. _Bucky._ It all came back. Someone hit play on the remote again and memories were flooding in at normal speed. She remembered everything.

Her head hurt.

The nurse leaned over her, having finished checking her vitals, and smiled. "Everything looks good, Ms. Banks. You'll be up and at 'em in no time. Now get some rest. Lord knows you could all use some."

The world began to blur again and Tania slipped away into unconsciousness.

* * *

Someone was whispering. She didn't know who it was or who they were speaking to or what they were saying, but there was someone there and they were speaking quietly. Were they trying not to disturb? Because they were failing.

She could feel her mind being pulled from the recesses of sleep like a chewed up piece of gum from under a table. Her thoughts and dreams stretched on and on as consciousness pulled harder. She groaned.

"Tania?"

She opened her eyes. The room seemed unnaturally bright. And _white_. She squinted at the silhouette in front of her. "Steve?" Her voice was coarse and she regretted speaking immediately. It felt like trying to gurgle rocks in a throat made of more rocks. She coughed and Steve was there, handing her a glass with a white bendy straw poking out of it. She sipped greedily at the water even though she happened to remember that water was what did this in the first place.

When she had had her fill, she lowered her hands and Steve took the glass away. He scooted his chair as close to the bed as it would go and grasped her right hand in both of his before leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Ah. So he had been whispering to her.

"I'm…" She cleared her throat in an attempt to sound less raspy. "I'm glad I'm alright too."

Steve huffed out a laugh so suddenly that it was like he hadn't been expecting something so light-hearted to come out of her mouth. "I should hope so." He kissed the back of her hand, which felt warm from his touch. "You scared me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're one to talk, Mr. Got-shot-at-least-twice-not-to-mention-stabbed-before-drowning-in-the-potomac."

"You were shot twice too," he pointed out.

… well, it was a fair point. "Yeah, but you got stabbed."

"But I have the serum."

"Which made you wake up earlier and worry longer."

He opened his mouth as if to keep the banter going, but closed it and shook his head, smiling. "I've missed you."

Her relaxed expression fell. "How long have I been out this time?"

"Overnight. A few days in total. There were several surgeries. One bullet almost hit your… well… let's just say that if it had been an inch further up, it was possible that… you might never have kids."

The reality of that statement stung with shock. Her left hand flew to her abdomen, where she could feel a few light bandages. "But I'm okay, right?" The thought of never having biological children… it terrified her in a way little else could. She was surprised at the intensity of fear she could feel coiling in her stomach for her unborn children that may have never _ever_ been born.

He smiled and his shoulders dipped. "Yes. You're fine. You'll make a full recovery with everything intact."

She sighed in relief and closed her eyes, letting her head fall back into the pillow. "And you're fine too, I presume?"

"Yes. I'm already mostly healed."

She opened her eyes to glare suspiciously at him. "Mostly?"

He had the decency to look sheepish. "I, um, well, my skin is still healing so the wounds are still there, but all of my internals are intact. Some of them still hurt - a bit."

She crossed her arms.

"And I may have… pulled out the stitches the doctors insisted I have. But I don't need them! Honest. The serum will do just fine on its own."

She sighed. "You are the worst patient _ever_."

"That's not true," he argued, relief clear in his tone that she wasn't mad. "Tony is much worse."

Okay, that was probably true. "Where _is_ Tony? How's he doing? Did he get Bruce back?"

"Yeah. He and Bruce are fine and so are Pepper and Betty and Thor and Jane. Bruce seems a bit shaken up. He did a lot of damage. But Betty's helping him cope. They're all here, actually. They wanted to make sure you were okay."

"We," she corrected. "They wanted to make sure _we_ were okay."

His lips quirked upward.

"Speaking of 'we', how's Sam?"

"Good. He got some burns, bumps, and bruises, but he's okay. He likes to hover awkwardly around the wing when the Avengers are around because he doesn't want to intrude." She could sense amusement in his tone. "Natasha pretty much dragged him into the circle and everyone's getting along great."

"That's… great." She couldn't think of a better word. "And Natasha? I saw her earlier but I don't really remember…"

"She's the least hurt out of all of us. She's absolutely fine."

"And emotionally?"

He hesitated. "Less fine, but she's handling it. She's constantly on the phone with Clint. I think it helps her to deal."

"What about Clint?"

"I spoke to him once. He seemed okay. He was stabbed and Viola was shot, but they both made it out of Africa alright. They're in a safe house somewhere in the States. As soon as you're better, Tony's going to lend Natasha one of his private jets to pick him up."

Something just occurred to her. "And bring him where? The Tower's still under construction. I mean, he's invited to our place of course, but…"

"There's a giant hole in the wall from where…" He paused. A beat passed. Then another. And another. "Where Fury was shot."

This was the topic she'd been dancing around for the entire conversation. She was going to keep avoiding it because she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. "So…?"

"So apparently Tony has a surprise for us."

She blinked. "He does?"

Steve nodded and hummed.

"So… where is everyone right now?"

He sat back, exhaling as if to brace himself for a lot of words, but kept unhand entwined with Tania's. "Well, Tony and Pepper are doing what they can to keep the media under control. Natasha and Sam are helping with clean-up. Bruce and Betty are somewhere around here; I think they went to get something to eat. Thor and Jane are guarding the hospital from paparazzi, last I heard. And Clint is safe… somewhere."

She lowered her voice down to a whisper. "And Fury?"

He ducked his head as if to avoid being seen by security cameras. "In the wind. Last anyone's heard or seen from him was at his grave." His eyes bored into hers and she understood the double meaning.

"Pierce?"

"Shot dead by Fury."

She nodded, gaze straying to her sheet. She didn't want to ask. But she felt like she needed to. "And… Bucky?"

There was a long silence. It was so long that she didn't think he was going to answer. Except he did. "Also in the wind," he sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. He leaned forward, bracing both elbows on his knees. Another silence ensued. Then: "He saved us."

She blinked with wide eyes. "What?"

"Bucky, he- He pulled us out." He stared at the floor. "I don't know how, but he got us both out in time."

"How… how do you know it was him?"

"Natasha and Sam found us a few minutes afterward, lying on the bank, unconscious. Well, I was in and out - mostly out. They loaded us in a helicopter and took us to the nearest hospital and here we are."

"But how do you know that Bucky's the one that saved us? What if he's-?"

"No." He shook his head, completely in denial. "No, it was him. It had to be."

Her heart leaped to her throat. "Steve-"

"Don't fight me on this, Tania, _please_. It was him. We were both unconscious when we fell in there's no way we could have swam there. We were both injured. And there was no one else close to us who could've known where we were and gotten us out in time. It was _him_."

He did make a lot of reasonable points. "Okay… Does that mean… he remembers?" She tried _really_ hard not to sound too hopeful.

Steve worked his jaw for a few seconds before finding the words to answer. "I don't know."

"But he's alive."

"Yeah. That much I do know."

"And he's out there somewhere."

"Yeah."

The heart monitor continued to beep in the background. "We'll find him," she promised. "We'll find him and we'll get him back." Because, unfortunately, those were two separate things. She took his face into her hands. "Together."

He smiled sadly at her, reaching up to cover one of her hands with his own. That's when she noticed that her fingers were bare. A spike of panic shot through her. "Where's my ring?"

"It's here." He reached over to the stand by her bedside and grabbed a ziplock bag. It contained her earrings, her necklace, and her ring, all of which had completely dried. Steve removed the engagement ring and placed the bag back on the stand. The teal sapphires twinkled. Tania felt tears well up in her eyes and emotion well up in her chest.

She wanted to marry him. _God_ , she wanted to marry him. She watched as he slowly slid the ring onto her finger. It felt _right_. It felt like she had always had a ring there; like it was an extension of her hand. It was _perfect_.

"I want to marry you," she whispered.

He laughed, a bit confused. "I believe I asked you this question already."

"No, I mean…" She sat up and snaked her arms around her shoulders. "… like right now."

His hands found her waist purely on instinct. "Now? In a hospital?"

She laughed, feeling giddy. Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it wasn't. She didn't care. "No, I mean… I don't want to wait. I said I wanted a long engagement, but… I changed my mind. I want to be tied to you forever and I want it as soon as I can get it."

He stared at her, aghast, jaw hanging open. "You… you do?"

She threw her head forward the short distance remaining between them and kissed him hard. Embers flared and sparked and _flew_. She was _happy_.

With a resounding _smack_! she pulled away. "Yes. I watched you get shot over and over. I watched as your best friend pummelled you to a pulp. I watched you fall into the river unconscious. And I almost died too. I almost lost the ability to have kids." Her stomach clenched. "I want the married life with you, Steve. I don't want to wait. Life's too short to wait."

His grin could light up a city. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

As if pulled by an invisible tether, they both surged forward. Their mouths connected like two magnets that entered the field of attraction, yanked together until broken apart. At that moment, absolutely _nothing_ could break them apart.

* * *

It wasn't until later (much later, after Steve had left and Tony and Pepper had come to visit) that Tania remembered Drew. With a pounding heart, Tania borrowed Tony's phone to call her friend. It had been several days since they'd last made contact and Tania had lost her phone in the explosion so she hadn't been able to check on her nor vice-versa.

Poor Drew. She'd come to Washington fleeing an abusive boyfriend to be safe and on her first night the director of an intelligence agency was murdered a floor above her. Tania could only hope that she and Rocky were okay.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

 _"Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system. '_ Drew Pierce' _is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you ar-"_

"God damn it," Tania grumbled, swiping the screen to hang up.

"Something wrong?" Tony asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, one hand still outstretched for his phone.

Tania began dialling again. "Don't know yet."

 _Ring._

 _Ring._

 _Ring._

 _"Your call has been forwarded to an-"_

"No! Damn it." She hung up and tossed Tony the phone, who barely managed to catch it.

"Hey, watch it! Those things are expensive."

"Sorry," she grumbled. "I'm just worried about my friend."

"I'm sure she's fine," Tony assured, tucking the phone safely in his jacket pocket. "You'll be out of here tomorrow, so we can go check on her then."

She sighed, leaning back into the pillow. "Yeah. you're right."

"Aren't I always?" He flashed her a toothy grin.

She rolled her eyes as Pepper lightly smacked him in the stomach from where she was sitting to the right of Tania's bed. "I can go visit her if you'd like?"

"No, I don't think she'd feel very comfortable with her old boss paying her a visit. No offence."

"None taken. I understand."

"And I don't think she'd like any attention being drawn to her either, especially not by the Avengers."

"Some of us know how to be discreet," Pepper pointed out.

"Yeah," Tania acknowledged, "but still, I mean, I doubt anything happened to her. She was safe there. It's highly unlikely her boyfriend would've- Wait." A memory came back. A text.

 _Dad set me up with a SHIELD safe house. Rocky and I are safe. Thank you for everything._

It was something along those lines. Tania couldn't remember it perfectly. "No. Give me back the phone." She made grabby hands for it and Tony quickly shoved the device into them. She began dialling again.

"Tania, what's wrong?" Pepper asked, placing a calming hand on Tania's knee.

"She's not at my apartment building," Tania explained, holding the phone to her ear. "She's in a SHIELD safe house somewhere. Her dad was SHIELD."

Realization dawned on Tony and Pepper's faces. "I'm on it." Tony pulled out a second phone and plopped down in the chair to Tania's left.

The phone in Tania's hand kept ringing.

And ringing.

 _And ringing._

 _You've reached an autom-_

"No!" Tania squeezed the phone tightly, wanting to throw it at the wall as hard as she could, yet knowing that was a bad idea. She dialled again.

Nothing.

"Maybe we _should_ send someone…" Pepper tentatively suggested.

Tania sighed. "Steve. I'll send Steve." She dialled again, fingers flying across the screen.

He picked up on the first ring. " _Hello?_ "

"Hey. Could you please do something for me? It's really important."

 _"Of course. What is it?"_

"You remember how I gave Drew some money to rent an apartment near ours?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. _"Yeah."_

"And then when we were driving to New Jersey I told you that she was in a SHIELD safe house with our dog?"

 _"Yeah…"_

"Tony's working on finding her exact location and when he does, I need you to check on her. Please. I'm really worried about her. With the fall of SHIELD…" She trailed off, unsure what could've happened.

 _"Right. I'll make sure she and our dog are safe."_

She felt better knowing that he was on the case. "Thanks, Steve."

 _"Anytime."_

* * *

About a half an hour later, Tony's phone rang and Tania picked it up as fast as she could, barely giving herself time to check the caller ID before answering. "Steve," she breathed. "Is she okay?"

She was met with silence.

"Steve?"

 _"She's not here."_

Her stomach dropped. "What do you mean she's not there? Did Tony-?"

 _"Tony's here with me and he swears this is the location of her safe house. When Nat released all of SHIELD and Hydra's information, she released_ all _of it. Tony was able to use it to find out which safe house she was in but…"_

The heart monitor began beeping faster. "Maybe Tony's wrong-"

" _Tania_." His tone was dismayed, but firm. " _Rocky's here._ "

But if Rocky was there…? Then that meant… Drew _had_ been there. Tania swallowed. "Maybe she went shopping or something?"

Steve sighed. She could almost feel his breath against her neck. _"There are signs of a hasty exit. Drawers opened and emptied. Suitcase tracks and dirt on the floor."_

Tania hardly dared breathe. "And no note?"

 _"No. I found Rocky in a kennel. Drew must have bought it for her. She seemed scared, but she's fine."_

"Rocky?"

" _Yeah."_

Tania exhaled. "Okay. Okay, so… she left of her own free will. She's okay."

A beat. _"Yeah. I think so. The place is clean otherwise. Really clean. Was she always this clean?"_

She laughed, leaning back and sighing against the pillow. "Yeah. Drew's always been a bit of a neat freak."

They paused, not sure where else the conversation could take them. " _I'll see you soon, okay? Once you're out of there, the three of us will be reunited again."_

Tania could do nothing to stop the smile from spreading across her face. "I can't wait."

 **A/N. So all of the movie scenes are officially finished. From here on out, the work is original (using characters that don't belong to me, of course). I can't imagine there being too many chapters left. Five at maximum if all goes according to plan. I hope to hear from you all via reviews until then ;)**

 **Stay tuned!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N. *Spider-Man voice* Hey everyone. *Normal voice* Alright, I'm going to be honest here: this chapter is mostly just set-up for the spin-off I've been planning. I mentioned that before, right? A spin-off surrounding Viola that would heavily include Matt Murdock/Daredevil? That's probably going to be the next fic I write once this one is finished.**

 **ALSO! I have a tumblr! I've had it for a few months now, but I've decided to let people know about it :P You can find me at www . tumblr blog / marvelsbestsuperheroine (without the spaces). Or just look up "marvelsbestsuperheroine" on tumblr :) Up until now I've mostly just reblogged various Marvel things (beware spoilers for Civil War) but I have now decided to include information about my fanfictions, as I've seen other authors do. You can interact with me there, ask me questions, request prompts, etc. Instead of posting full-length fics that take place during AoU and CW, I'll probably just make tumblr posts about what would've happened had Tania been there. Please keep in mind that none of this is set in stone and that I could change my mind, but as of right now that is the way things are probably going to go. So yeah! Please follow me and enjoy this next chapter :D**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

The jet's repulser-powered engines thrummed with life, glowing bright blue. The air around them began to swirl, lifting leaves and blades of grass into the tornado. Clint and Viola's casual clothes whipped about them, their hair flying in all directions. They stepped back as the jet lowered to the ground, the engines whining in a high pitch as they slowed to a stop. The wheels landed in the dirt and the door hissed before popping open. It whirred as it descended, revealing Natasha from her head to her toes. She, too, was dressed casually and stood with her hip cocked to one side.

"Nice hair," Clint commented, walking onto the plane as if he owned it.

"Nice stab wound," she returned, smirking at him.

Viola followed Clint inside, turning to look back at the "safe house" she'd resided in for several days. With one final glance, she turned back and approached Natasha. "Thanks for picking us up." The jet they'd stolen had a malfunctioning cloaking system. They couldn't risk flying it again without being caught.

Natasha nodded. "It's not a problem. When my boyfriend needs bailing out of trouble, I'll always be here for him."

"You zip it."

Viola chuckled and moved to sit on one of the benches. "Where did you get the jet? It doesn't look SHIELD-issue."

"That's because it's not. It's Stark's."

Viola winced. _Duh._ "Right."

Once Clint lowered himself into the pilot's seat, he flipped the switch to close the bay doors and slipped on a headset. "Who wants to be my co-pilot?"

"Dibs," Natasha called, heading over.

Not that Viola was going to prevent the couple from having their private moment up front. They hadn't seen each other in months. Feeling suddenly awkward, she scooted further back into the jet and lay down as the engines powered up. The past few days at Clint and Natasha's safe house had been… peaceful, to say the least. Surrounded by nature. Beautiful scenery. But also isolated and with very little contact with the outside world. They'd found ways to keep themselves occupied, but Viola had never been one to sit still very long. She'd been getting restless, staying in one place, not moving too much so she could heal, doing chores, playing cards. It was cool at first. New. Different. But she tired of it easily and became bored after only three days.

 _Just a little longer, Viola,_ she told her self. _A few more hours and you can go home._ Not that there was anything better to do at home besides clean. The apartment was probably a mess. Chet better be taking good care of her jade plants. If she got back and found out they were dead, she was going to be pissed.

But what was she going to do with herself now that SHIELD was gone? Romanoff had filled her in on the phone about everything that had happened. Viola was going to assume that it was safe to say that her career as a SHIELD agent was over. She had no job. No income. No source of excitement or adrenaline. The whole reason she started working for SHIELD in the first place was because she was behind on her rent and drowning in student loans and needed a job ASAP.

God, she hated job hunting.

She'd somehow survived all of university thinking she could work some boring office job. She'd been so determined not to give in to her addiction to adrenaline or to be reckless. But after graduation, no one would hire her and her roommate had moved to England and she'd been left to fend for herself. SHIELD had come knocking on her door (multiple times), but it wasn't until she started getting eviction notices that she finally accepted.

She'd justified having such a dangerous job with the amount of good she was doing. SHIELD was an organization that tried to maintain peace. It was security. It was _government_. That used to mean it was something she could (should) trust.

Not anymore.

It had been weak to give in to her addiction. Living dangerously for the sake of that rush right before you die or get hurt. Except it no longer felt like an addiction. It felt like a way of life. Maybe that was just the way she was. She had never taken risks when the stakes were too high. She had never endangered others for the sake of getting a rush. Sharon had said that that was part of what made her a good leader.

Viola was pretty sure she was just bossy.

But where would she go after SHIELD? She'd been an agent for four years. She'd been working her way up. She'd aspired (albeit loosely) to become director one day. Now all of that was down the drain and far, _far_ into the ocean.

"Viola?"

She lifted her head to look toward the cock pit. Clint had his head angled toward her but his eyes were in the sky. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come with us to Tony's place?"

She blinked in surprise. "Wait, where?"

"Well, he hasn't actually told us yet," Natasha confessed with a shrug. "But I did some snooping and I'm pretty sure he's got a mansion or something he's taking us to. You're welcome to come with us."

"Oh, no, that's okay. Just drop me off somewhere in Manhattan and I'll be okay."

"That's kind of vague," Clint pointed out, still talking to the windshield.

"Well, I figured you couldn't just park this thing anywhere on the island."

"No, but we can drop you off. Literally."

Oh. "That works too. I live in Midtown. West forty-second street."

Clint whistled. "How'd you snag a place there?"

"It took a lot of damage during the Battle of New York. It's kind of… broken."

"Broken how?"

Seeing that this conversation didn't seem to be coming to an end, Viola stood up and walked up to the cock pit, leaning her elbows on the shoulders of both seats. "Well, the air conditioning and heating doesn't work. The windows won't open. The stove is faulty. The lights keep flickering on and off. The landlord didn't bother repainting after the reconstruction was finished so it looks really shabby. I'm pretty sure there's mould somewhere. I don't think the fire alarms even work. And it smells."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Natasha offered more seriously. "It sounds like you live in a shit hole."

"I do. But all my stuff is there and I've been there since the invasion. I mean, I used to live on the original helicarrier, but… that didn't turn out too well."

Clint frowned. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"It was partly my fault that the helicarrier was attacked in the first place."

"Don't start with this," Natasha chastised.

"I said 'partly'! I think that's progress."

She rolled her eyes.

Viola pursed her lips. "Right. Loki brainwashed you, right?"

Natasha glared at her. Viola was tempted to shrink back, but managed to hold her ground. Clint was stoic for a minute. Then: "Yeah. He did."

Well this was a topic that Viola didn't want to broach. "So yeah, just drop me off near Midtown. Heck, drop me off in Hell's Kitchen or anywhere on the island of Manhattan and I'll make my way home. Yeah, it's shitty, but the people are really nice - well, some of my neighbours are really nice. And I've neglected my plants for too long. I need to collect my things and… yeah, it's just easier if you drop me off there."

"What are you going to do? Now that SHIELD's no longer an option." Natasha seemed to be over Viola's little misstep back there. She seemed perfectly amiable at the moment. Then again, this was the Black Widow. It could all be a ruse.

Viola shook her head. "No idea. I have a degree in _mythology_. Not much I can do with that."

"Museum curator?" Natasha suggested.

"I've tried to get into that business and have failed miserably." She sighed. "But I supposed I'll have to try again. What about you guys? Are you just going to be full-time Avengers?"

The two pilots shared a look that Viola couldn't decipher. Reading people had never been her strong suit. "Probably," Natasha answered. "Our identities are public so I doubt we'd be able to find jobs easily."

"Plus Tony's like the fourth richest guy on the planet or something so… I think we're set for money."

"And room and board."

"We've got it pretty good, don't we Tash?"

Natasha smiled. "Yeah. We do."

* * *

Viola jumped out of Stark's private jet somewhere over Hell's Kitchen. Yeah, this was probably illegal, but she was parachuting into an alleyway in the middle of the night so chances were that she wouldn't get caught.

Well. She hoped.

Her experience sky diving and parachuting came in very handy as her accuracy steered her straight down between two walls. She unhooked herself and was tempted to keep walking just to look cool, but knew that no one was watching. She gathered the material of the parachute in her arms and dropped it in a nearby dumpster.

It wasn't too far of a walk to her apartment. Maybe ten minutes. She started walking, glad she was wearing converse. She'd kind of stolen them from Clint and Natasha's safe house (with permission so it wasn't really stealing).

Hell's Kitchen was weird at night. Unlike the rest of Manhattan, the streets were pretty empty. There were always people around, but only a few at each corner. A few streets away was Times Square, which was packed with people at all hours of the day. Viola kind of liked the quiet of Hell's Kitchen, though it always seemed a bit eerie. Maybe kind of false. The city noise was always there, but between these buildings it was muffled.

"Hey, princess!"

 _Oh great_. She rolled her eyes and didn't bother turning around. Instead, she gave him the finger as she walked away.

"Yeah, you better run!"

What? Hm. Well that guy was obviously drunk. She didn't even have to look to know that he was probably going vomit all over himself later. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her purple hoodie (also stolen from the safe house) and huffed. It was a brisk night; brisk enough that she could see her breath in a puff of white. The cold nipped at her nose and ears so she pulled up the hood as well. Winter was fast approaching, but snow had yet to arrive, for which she was grateful.

She made it home without incident, but realized very belatedly that she forgot the code to get in. Three months in Africa will do that to you. She buzzed Chet's apartment, praying he was home and not called in to work or sleeping or something.

Luck was with her, it seemed, because he answered almost right away. _"Hello?"_

"Chet, it's Viola. Can you let me up? It's been a while and I can't remember the code." No answer. She waited, shifting her stance awkwardly. It wasn't much warmer in here. "Chet?"

 _"What's with all that stuff I'm seeing on the news about SHIELD being Hydra?"_

Ugh. Shit. Not now. "That statement is only half true. Only half of SHIELD… ish… turned out to be Hydra. I'm on the half that's good."

 _"I'm just supposed to take your word on that?"_

"Chet. Be real. I babysit your daughter at least once a week when I'm here. I am not Hydra and I pose no threat to you or Angie. You can search my apartment if you want. I have nothing to hide." Well, she did, but nothing worth sleeping in the streets tonight.

It took several moments for Chet to reply. _"Alright. Come on up. I'll meet you in the hallway."_

The door buzzed and unlocked. "Thank you!" She called to the speaker before pulling the door open and walking into the lobby. The elevator was out of service. _Again_. She sighed. Ten flights of stairs normally wasn't a problem for someone as athletic as her, but she was tired and still healing from a bullet wound and all she wanted was to fall into bed.

She began the climb.

Ten flights later, she emerged onto her floor and found Chet waiting for her, arms crossed over his chest. He was still dressed in his security guard uniform. It hung off his shoulders slightly, a bit baggy around the waist. Was he thinner? Did he just get back from work? He must have gotten Mr. and Mrs. Ali across the hall to watch Angie.

Viola sighed. "Chet, it's good to see you, but I really don't want to deal with this right now. It's late. I'm tired. I've had a long few months. I just want to sleep."

He didn't move. He seemed to be sizing her up.

"Can we talk about this in the morning? Please? I'll have you and Angie over for coffee and biscuits and cereal and stuff. If everything in my pantry isn't rotten," she added as an after thought.

Chet still didn't budge.

"I'm not Hydra," she dead panned. "If I wanted you dead, you would be by now."

That did not seem to reassure him.

"Fine. You're not getting between me and my sleep." She reached into her hair and pulled out two bobby pins. She knelt down and started picking her own lock. She could feel Chet's gaze boring into her back. She did her best to ignore him.

"If you keep doing that, your lock eventually won't work," he warned.

"Then I'll buy a new one," she responded easily. The lock clicked and she pushed the door open. She stood. Before she could step inside, a hand on her shoulder immediately had her tense. But Chet made no move to attack.

"It's good to have you back," he said. She turned to face him. He smiled tiredly at her. "Innocent until proven guilty, right?"

She smiled back, relieved. "Thank you. My plants better not be dead," she teased, knowing he was too responsible to ever let that happen.

"Don't worry. I watered them for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key she'd given him. He held it out to her. "Sorry about before. You can just never be too careful, right? Especially here."

"Right." _Wrong_. She accepted the key from him.

"I'm gonna take you up on that offer of coffee in the morning. I want to hear about this Hydra-SHIELD debacle."

She held back a sigh. "Of course. How's ten?"

He chuckled. "Sleeping in?"

"Oh yeah."

"Ten's fine."

"Great. Goodnight, Chet."

"Night."

She entered her apartment and closed her door behind her. It was almost exactly as she'd left it. Papers strewn all over the counter and kitchen table. Dishes stacked high next to the sink, rinsed but not clean. Jade plants at every window, the thick leaves stretching toward the source of their sunlight.

She sniffed. It even smelled the same: stuffy with a hint of mould. She usually burned incense or scented candles to mask the smell, but being away for several months did not do anything any favours. She would have to hunt down that mould eventually and get rid of it, but she couldn't be bothered at the moment.

The bedroom was untouched since she left. A layer of dust covered the dresser and her desk. Both were piled high with clothes, unfolded and tossed haphazardly in one pile or the next. The bed was lazily made, the comforter crooked and the pillow cases wrinkled. Before she could sink into it, something she didn't remember being there before caught her eye.

A small black card lay on her desk, peeking out from underneath the pile of clean clothes that she'd meant to sort before she left. She pulled it out and turned it over. The only thing written on it was a phone number, but she recognized the SHIELD insignia and instantly remembered where she'd gotten this. Coulson had given it to her after the possessed Justine Hammer had attacked New York. He'd offered her a spot on his team.

She highly doubted that offer was still on the table. Even if SHIELD hadn't just completely collapsed and destroyed itself, it had been months since she'd been given that card. But she didn't throw it away. She set it back down on the desk and jumped into bed. Dreamland awaited.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N. Greetings, readers! I hope you're all having a wonderful day (or night). Please enjoy the next chapter of Brewing Coffee With Stania! :D**

 **Chapter Twenty**

"Welcome… to the newly refurbished Avengers Tower." Tony threw out both arms just as the bay doors of the quinjet descended, revealing the large letter 'A' adorning the Tower they'd come to know so well.

Now that she was staring it in the face, Tania realized just how much she'd missed it. Living in Washington with Steve was great. It had been domestic and sweet and she'd learned so many things about him she'd never have known had the two of them not been living completely on their own.

But being so far from her friends and family had made her feel slightly isolated. Of course they were in constant contact, what with technology nowadays, but it wasn't the same. No more family breakfasts. No more training with Clint. No more spa days with Pepper. No more going to bookstores with Betty. No more watching Netflix with Bruce. All of that was gone (at the time).

Natasha had been in Washington, of course, which helped. The two of them had spent a lot of time together over the course of the past few months. They trained every morning at the local gym while Steve went for his run. They went shopping sometimes. They went on missions together. They got drunk sometimes, complaining about their significant others while both were away.

But Tania missed _this_. Having her entire family together. Feeling like a single piece to a giant puzzle. Feeling whole. Like she belonged. Like she was part of a team.

The Avengers "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at the new style of the Tower. The overall layout was the same, but it looked much cleaner and more modern. The walls seemed to be made of glass, the half on the left crystal blue and the half on the right tinted a deep grey. The "A" that had originally been part of "STARK" had been replaced with a bigger, bluer "A" that was slightly to the left, like it was at the beginning of a word as opposed to the middle.

There was an entire section added on top of the helipad with tinted windows. The helipad itself had changed significantly. It no longer seemed to cater to helicopters and Iron Man suits, but to specifically to this quinjet that Tony had designed and built.

The doors began to close.

"JARVIS?" Tony called, returning to his seat in the cock pit. "Mind putting this baby inside?

 _"Your parallel parking has always needed work,"_ JARVIS quipped, but did as told.

The quinjet itself was completely remodelled. It was at least twice the size as the standard SHIELD-issue ones, with benches along each wall and six metal chairs in a circle in the centre. The cock-pit consisted of one pilot's chair in the middle surrounded by dozens of miniature screens, holo-tables, and switches. Clint was _itching_ to get his butt in the pilot's seat, if his constant "Can I try?"s were any indication.

The jet hummed, the repulsor engines significantly quieter, faster, and better for the environment. The vehicle slowly entered the hangar, guided on autopilot by JARVIS. Even the landing was smooth.

The door hissed as it opened once again, this time to reveal the inside of the Tower. It was like the biggest, most high-tech garage Tania had ever seen. Grabbing her crutches and unhooking the seatbelt, she pushed herself to her feet and followed the others off the ramp and into the hangar.

There was a short walkway about as wide as fifteen feet that led to an open hallway. Everything was dimly lit and accented in deep blues and greys. Using her crutches, Tania made her way to the end of the path, Rocky following just behind her.

"I thought this place was still under construction?" Clint asked, looking around looking slightly impressed.

Tony shrugged, removing his sunglasses and hanging them off the front of his shirt. He stuffed both hands in his pockets. "Surprise?"

Clint grinned. "So far so awesome."

"Glad you like it, bird boy."

"I believe we have two of those now, Stark," piped up Natasha, who brought up the rear of the group with Sam and Steve. She gestured to Sam, who just shrugged in response. He was just here for a few days to wait for Steve and Tania to settle in before the three of them started their search for Bucky.

Clint's eyes narrowed. "I was here first."

Sam chuckled good-naturedly. "Hey, man. I don't mean to walk all over your territory. I'm just the Falcon." He grinned.

Clint grinned back. "And I'm just The Amazing Hawkeye."

"Oh, your name has a adjective now?"

"That was my original name, actually, back when I was in the circus. SHIELD said it was too long so I had to cut it down."

"You were in the circus?"

"Yeah, man. It's a long story."

"I got time."

Clint and Sam walked off, getting along great for two guys who just met.

"Alright, no tour for them," Tony decided. "Come on everyone. I've got lots to show you."

The rest of the Tower was just as amazing as the hangar, equipped with technology beyond everyone's wildest dreams (except Tony's) and yet decorated with furniture that made the place seem homey and designer (thanks to Pepper). Everyone room had a holo-table of some sort somewhere as well as a place to hide weapons, which Natasha deeply appreciated and promptly began to fill them all up, separating from the rest of the group to do so.

With Pepper on his arm, Tony escorted the rest of the Avengers to each of the floors that had been redone. The aquarium floor, which had been severely damaged in the second Loki incident, was completely demolished and transformed into a training area, complete with shooting range (compatible with shields and trick arrows alike), obstacle course, sparring ring (yes, an actual _ring_ ), at least twelve punching bags, weights, treadmills, exercise machines, yoga mats, and even a mini dance studio in the far corner of the room. A projector emerged from the ceiling and created holograms in the centre of the room that could be interacted with for training purposes. Pepper, Betty, and Jane elected to stay and do some yoga while the rest continued the tour.

Each of the Avengers' floors had been completely revamped. Instead of a hallway with however many doors, each floor was like a separate apartment with a foyer, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Bruce and Thor opted to check out their own floors by themselves, leaving Tony, Tania, Steve, and Rocky to finish the tour.

Tony took them to what used to be a lab but now seemed to be a workshop filled to the brim with suits and suit parts and wiring and _wow_ it was a mess.

"This is the only floor in the entire building in which Pepper had no input," Tony stated proudly, stepping over a severed mechanical arm that looked like it had been harshly ripped from its body. Actually, it didn't look like an arm that belonged to an Iron Man suit. This arm had wiring all along the inside. There was no room to insert a limb.

"Uh, Tony?" Tania called. "What are you working on?"

"Hm?" He turned to her, seemingly returning from having been lost in space. "Oh! Yes. That. Well, as this whole Hydra debacle has just proven, the Avengers can't be everywhere at once. People all over the world are going to need us and there just aren't enough of us to save them all. So I thought, why not make more?"

Steve looked like he wanted to disapprove, but Tony cut him off before he could say anything.

"I'm basically building little Iron Mans to help control situations before the Avengers can get there or if we can't. Except they're not suits this time. They're robots and they're hooked up to JARVIS, who can pilot them from the Tower."

"Are you sure giving JARVIS that much power is a good idea, Tony?" Steve asked, looking sceptical and disapproving.

 _"Excuse you_ ," said JARVIS.

"Don't worry, Cap," Tony replied. "JARVIS may be an A.I. but he lacks a lot of programming that would be make him dangerous. Consciousness, for one thing. Emotion, for another. He can make decisions, yes, but he has no thought, no feeling, no personality. He's just my butler who I programmed to sound sarcastic and make witty remarks and be British and make decisions that only computers can make. He's saved my life more times than I count with those decisions. I wouldn't worry too much about it. In fact, I wouldn't worry at all. JARVIS is perfectly capable of operating these bad boys." He patted one of the robots on the face. "And JARVIS drove us here in the quinjet. You didn't seem to mind that."

"You were there monitoring the situation. That's different."

"Whatever. Point is: trust me to trust JARVIS, okay?"

Steve wasn't smiling, but he wasn't scowling either. "Okay."

"Great. Last stop: your place. Just take the elevator. It's the same floor."

"Alright," Tania said, hoping to ease the tension and get moving again. Her leg was getting a little tired. "The place looks fantastic, Tony."

Tony beamed. "Glad you think so, Piggy Bank.

She had never missed him calling her that. Ever.

With Rocky leading the way, Tania and Steve entered the much more spacious elevator. This one had music. Tony had explained that JARVIS chose which song to play based on who entered the elevator. Darcy had created a playlist for every Avenger and given it to Tony, who gave it to JARVIS to choose from whenever that person entered the elevator.

Michael Buble was currently singing softly in the background. Tania couldn't help singing along, swaying with the music. She caught Steve staring, admiring every part of her unabashedly. She smirked at him.

The doors opened and she limped out first. She was still getting used to the crutches. After two steps, she nearly fell over in shock.

The apartment was _beautiful_. Tania and Steve stood on an elevated wooden step about five feet in diameter that folded into a flawless wooden floors. The living room took up what used to be the entirety of the hallway and more, making good use of the more rounded space. The ceiling was the same height, about eight feet tall, but the popcorn design had been smoothed over with polished white paint.

The room was completely furnished with unfamiliar furniture, more than likely purchased and placed according to Pepper's preferences. There was a black leather sectional in the centre of the room on top of a black and white zebra rug. The throw pillows were teal and orange. Those same colours were accented in various pieces along the walls and tables. There was a floor to ceiling bookshelf to the far left, stuffed full with books, some Tania recognized and others she didn't. There was a desk at the far end with drawers and a trash can and an orange desk lamp. There was a gorgeous white light fixture hanging from the ceiling just behind the couch, surrounded by white branches rounded to make an aesthetically pleasing sphere.

Several feet in front of the couch was a large television that stood on a dresser that matched both the coffee table and bookshelf. The walls were a deep teal blue and the coasters on the coffee table were dark orange.

A large painting hung on the left wall, framed in tarnished gold. It was a landscape created in oil on canvas, portraying a glowing sunset. On the opposite wall, several photos of Steve, Tania, and the rest of the Avengers in various pairs and groups were placed in small frames glued together like a classy collage sat on hooks on either side of the television. The far wall was almost completely taken by windows looking out over New York City.

Steve whistled.

Tania's astonishment prevented words from coming out of her mouth.

The two of them shared a look. They immediately set off for the door furthest to the left, next to the oil painting. It rose out of their way when it detected their presence and revealed a humongous master bedroom with a king-sized bed (though it looked bigger).

The colour scheme in this room was more toned down and serene, a pleasant mix of pastel blue and sandy brown. A walk-in closet (with a spinning rack) hid behind a glass door to the left. There was a nightstand on either side of the bed, each with a lamp, candle, and sketchpad. To the right, there was a window that jutted into the wall so as to create a bench to sit on. This bench was adorned with a thin mattress and pillows as well as a curtain that could be closed in front of it. Tania was going to make very good use of what she now deemed her "reading corner".

Rocky ran over to the doggy bed in the corner of the room, circled it a few times, and then plopped down and closed her eyes.

"Wow," Tania breathed, hobbling forward.

Steve's shield hung on the wall next to the window, gleaming and spotless. Steve's face melted into a smile and he walked over, unhooking it from its perch and sliding it onto his arm. Behind the shield hung a new pair of batons, these ones more high-tech looking than before. Tania pulled them off the wall and inspected them, as Steve did his shield.

"Look," he said, turning the back of the shield to face her.

There was a note taped to the inside.

 **Found your shield, Cap. Now don't be mad, but I made a few modifications. Well, not to your shield. Figures that the one time I managed to get my hands on it, I didn't have what it takes to change anything. If you work best with it the way it is, then that's the way it should be.**

 **But! I made some adjustments to the uniform. That may have something to do with your shield. Hey, at least this way you'll never lose it again.**

 **You can thank me later.**

 **Tony**

Tania rolled her eyes. Oh Tony. She supposed it was only a matter of time before he eventually got his hands on the shield. Frankly it was a miracle Steve had been able to keep it away from him this long. "Are we curious to see the new uniforms?"

Steve shook his head. "Maybe later. Shall we check out the bathroom?"

The bathroom was luxuriously beautiful, equipped with a bathtub on one side _and_ a shower big enough for two on the other. The toilet automatically flushed when used. The sink was automatic as well, turning on when it sensed motion. Seashells decorated the counter and walls.

But the best part of the entire floor was the art studio. It was empty, as all of their things were still on the jet waiting to be unpacked, but the room had floor to ceiling windows taking up one entire wall as well as storage units all along another, waiting to be filled with brushes and utensils of all kinds.

"This place is…" She searched for an adequate word.

"Too much," Steve finished, looking around not with awe, but rather distaste. "Tania, _look_ at all of this. We don't need half this stuff. Heck, _more_ than half this stuff. We still have perfectly good furniture back at our place. Pepper didn't need to buy all of these things."

"But she did."

"Then she should return them."

"Steve." She limped closer to him, leaning the crutches on the wall so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. "It's _fine_. They can afford it."

"Doesn't mean they should get something just because they can."

"That's the beauty of being rich, Steve. Buying something without guilt or worry or having to overthink it."

"Deciding whether or not you need something is hardly overthinking it."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Let it go. It will hurt Pepper's feelings if you tell her you don't like it."

"It's not that I don't like it," he said. "It's just… all this luxury… it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"I'm sure we can get rid of some of this stuff and replace it with our own. I'm thinking the record player will go in the living room, maybe on that table that we had back at our place. And the mirror can go in the that star Tony and Bruce got me can hover over the coffee table. And that drawing of us in the coffee shop _has_ to go in the bedroom."

His smile grew. "I'm sure we'll figure out a compromise. But one thing does have to go."

"What's that?"

"That." He looked up over her head. She turned and followed his gaze. In the far corner of the room, a tiny security camera flashed red every few seconds. "JARVIS, turn off all cameras on this floor."

 _"I'm sorry, Captain, but only Mr. Stark has the authority to do that."_

Steve looked at Tania as if to say "see what I mean".

"It's just a security measure," she tried to reason, though she had to admit that the cameras did make her squirm. "Remember when you were all mind controlled by Loki? They came in handy then."

"It's an invasion of our privacy and if I'm not mistaken, none of us were in our rooms at the time of the Takeover."

"Tony's just trying to look out for us."

"At the expense of any privacy we have left. There's cameras in the bedroom and the bathroom, Tania."

"It's not like he watches us 24/7. No one watches those tapes unless there's a security breach."

"Do you really want records of us making love somewhere you can't access?"

She shifted uncomfortably.

"I understand Tony's concern, but we can handle ourselves. I don't feel comfortable sleeping here unless he turns them off, like he _told us_ he did last time."

"Go talk to him then," she urged, conceding his point. "I want to look around some more."

He nodded and pecked her on the nose. "I'll see you in a bit."

With Steve gone, Tania began browsing the books on the shelf. Most of them had been on her wish list, which she'd shared with her fellow readers: Bruce, Betty, and Natasha. They must have given that list to Pepper while she was redecorating. In another life, that woman could've easily been an interior designer.

A little while later, Tania pulled out her new phone and searched through the contacts she'd managed to retrieve. She found Drew's number and pressed "Call". It rang continuously for a good two minutes before Tania realized that the automated voice message system wasn't going to come on and Drew wasn't going to pick up. She sighed and slipped the phone back into her purse.

Deciding to make good use of her time, Tania made her way back to the quinjet to get her and Steve's things and found Natasha and Clint bickering on the ramp about who had the shittiest time during the Fall of SHIELD.

"I was stabbed."

"Well I was shot."

"I had to watch my friend get shot."

"I had to find my friends drowned and close to death by the massive destruction of an organization I put my faith in."

"Yeah? Well… well… Hey, Tania!" Clint noticed her first, waving enthusiastically from where he sat perched on top of a very tall suitcase. "How's the leg? And the stomach? And the back?"

"Not as bad as when I first got them," she replied. "How are your injuries?"

"Healing," Natasha answered. She jutted her thumb in Clint's direction. "This guy refuses to take pain meds so he's probably in pain right now."

Clint shrugged. "You know me, Tash. I hate anything that impairs my vision and mind."

"Except alcohol."

He nodded. "I like alcohol, but not to the extent where I pass out puking."

"Ugh." Tania wrinkled her nose. "Well, I just came to pick up my stuff. Don't mind me."

"So did we," said Natasha. "Everyone else seems to have gotten their stuff already." She gestured to the quinjet, which indeed seemed to be lacking in luggage.

Clint hopped off his makeshift bird's nest. "Want any help?"

It took her an extra beat to answer. "Sure." She was past refusing help because of her pride and stubbornness. With her crutches, she would have had to make multiple trips.

Natasha crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "Fine. Leave me with all our luggage then. How romantic."

Clint laughed, grabbing Steve's duffel bag and Tania's significantly larger suitcase and rolling it down the ramp. "Come on, Nat. We both know you can carry both of those downstairs in no time flat. Would it make you feel any better if I said that when I'm done helping Tania, we can 'break in' the new bedroom?" He smirked suggestively.

"No." Despite her quick answer, Natasha smirked back and turned, swaying her hips a little exaggeratedly as she grabbed both suitcases and began pulling them toward the elevator.

Tania couldn't hide her small giggle. "Haven't you guys had you're reunion sex yet?" She teased, grabbing her carry-on and yanking up the handle.

Clint grinned. "Yup." And he left it at that.

With Clint's help, all of Tania and Steve's things were on their floor within fifteen minutes, after which Clint "disappeared" and Tania elected not to bother him (or Nat). Left to her own devices, Tania decided to take Rocky for a walk. She attached the leash to her crutch and made it all the way down to the first floor without any problems. She was really supposed to be staying off her feet, but she wasn't in a lazy mood. She wanted to move around, get things done. Besides: she wasn't going far. Just around the block and back.

She'd nearly forgotten that their coffee shop was on that block.

The streets had long been cleaned after the Hammeroid incident, when Loki had utilized Justine Hammer's influence at Hammer Tech to unleash the giant robots on New York City (again) to lure out the Avengers and try to use Clint's brother as a sniper to kill them off.

Wow their lives were crazy.

But the destruction of properties remained. Anyone who couldn't afford to rebuild what had been destroyed was shit out of luck. Apparently one such person was the man who owned the coffee shop. When she passed it, it was just as destroyed as when Steve had proposed to her inside of it. She stopped walking, looked both ways, and J-walked across the street. Cars honked at her, but that was New York for you.

The shop was in ruins, the wooden frames splintered, the front counter charred, the tables and chairs obliterated. Tania could still picture it so clearly as it had been before. Soft jazz playing in the background. The smell of fresh pastries and delicious coffee. The friendly faces that had become familiar as she and Steve became regulars.

She missed it. She hadn't realized it until that point, but she did. It had once been a fixture in her life; a routine. But while it still stood on shaky legs, there was no telling what would happen to it. Months had passed since it was destroyed. Surely if someone were to attempt to save it, something would have changed by now.

Feeling bold, Tania strode inside, carefully maneuvering around the debris. It was in this very spot, beside the hundred shards of broken glass, that Steve had bent down on one knee and asked her to marry him. She raised her left hand to stare at the ring, turning her palm this way and that.

This coffee shop was worth saving. It meant so much to her and to Steve and to their relationship. It was where they'd had their first meeting, where they'd gotten to know each other, where he had proposed…

What if… she bought the shop? What if she rebuilt it? What if she _owned_ it? This coffee shop… could truly be _theirs_. She knew barely a second after thinking it that she wanted this. She did some quick calculations. Together, they could afford it.

She wasn't a SHIELD agent anymore. Tony would no doubt re-hire her as Stark Industries' head of Marketing and Advertising if she asked, but she felt that she'd outgrown it. She didn't want to go back, not with Mindy still there and Drew… _not_. It was time to put her business degree to damn good use.

Feeling inspired, Tania left the coffee shop with a bouncing Rocky, already brainstorming ideas for names, layout, hiring, advertising, budgets, colour schemes, etc.

But something brought her up short.

Steve hadn't been happy with her the last time she'd spent a large sum of their money without telling him, even though it had been to help a friend. Even though he'd been caught up in his problems. She'd kept it from him, however temporarily, and it had not been appreciated.

She would not make the same mistake.

"I want to buy the coffee shop."

Steve looked up from where he appeared to be brooding by the desk in the living room. "What?" He let the curtain fall back into place in front of the window, walking towards Tania instead.

She could probably word that better. Setting the crutches aside, she hopped toward him. He met her halfway, catching her by both elbows. Together, they staggered to the couch and fell into its thick cushions, already cuddled. She snuggled deeper into his chest, both legs tucked behind her and her ear pressed against his heart. She sucked in a breath to get ready to try again. "I would like to buy our coffee shop," she repeated. "I did some research. Everyone thinks it's beyond saving - but I think we could do it."

"But wasn't it destroyed in the second Loki incident?"

"That's why it hasn't been rebuilt. But I was thinking… what if we rebuilt it?" She tilted her head to look up at him, meeting his gaze. "Then it really _would_ be our coffee shop. It could be our business. A way to make money now that SHIELD is gone. I know you feel guilty using up Tony's money for your own expenses, so this will be our own income and we will buy it with our own money."

"You don't want to work at Stark Industries anymore?"

She shook her head. "It was a great job while it lasted, but… I think I'm ready for something new."

"You were only there for like a year."

She slapped his abdomen playfully. "We've only been dating like a year and a bit."

"A year and a half, if you count the three months we spent in 1945."

"Even so, we haven't actually known each other that long."

"Feels like forever."

She raised an eyebrow.

"In a good way," he assured.

"Uh huh. Well. If our relationship survived all those traumatic experiences, I'd say that it can survive anything." She shifted, rolling over so that she lay face down on top of Steve, who'd moved with her and kicked his legs up onto the couch so that they both lay horizontally on the sectional, his head leaning on the arm rest and her on top of him. "Including the test of time."

He smiled. "I think so too."

"So what do you think?"

"About buying a business?" He hummed, reaching both arms to lace his fingers behind his head. "Sounds financially risky."

"I think we could pull it off. I did a bunch of calculations. I have a graph, you wanna see?"

He chuckled, his chest rumbling and shaking her with every breath. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, I had to do _something_ with that degree of mine. I'm still paying off my goddamn student loans." But not for much longer! She was almost done. Just a few more payments to make (thanks in part to Tony). "So? What do you say?"

He glanced to the side, staring at the wall behind Tania. She let him think, resting her head on his chest and enjoying the warmth he always emitted. He was like her own personal ray of sunshine.

"Alright."

Her head shot up. "Really?"

His lips turned upward at the corners. "Really."

Beaming, she hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you agree. I wanted this to be a decision we made together."

"I appreciate that."

"Can I ask what motivated you to say yes?"

He shrugged, lowering one arm to rest lightly at the small of her back as if to make sure she didn't fall. "That coffee shop brought us together in a number of ways. Maybe it can do that for someone else too. But we'll never know unless we rebuild it. I wouldn't want to take that away from someone else."

She placed both hands under her chin and rested it on his ribs, staring down at him happily. "So what did you want to name it? Or, re-name it, rather."

He seemed caught off guard, blinking blankly at her. "Uh, I don't know. Did you have something in mind?"

"Maybe." She smiled sheepishly. "I was thinking… Your Coffee Shop."

He inclined his head. "Simple."

"And it's like you said. That place brought us together… maybe it can bring others together. I want it to be theirs as much as ours. I want it to feel homey and safe. Safe space. I've already drawn out a rough sketch of what I want it to look like."

"Yeah? Can I see?"

"Sure!"

They spent the rest of the night planning their business.

Their future.

Of course, the elephant in the room was Bucky, but they elected to keep him out of their conversation, at least for one night. They would be talking a lot about him tomorrow.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N. Hello, everyone! I'm so sorry that this is so extremely late. I didn't even realize it had been so long until I got a review saying it had been a month and my eyes just popped open like "WHAT?". Please forgive me. At least there wasn't a cliffhanger, though, right? So there's that. Anyway, here's the final chapter of Brewing Coffee With Stania. I'm %90 per cent sure I'm going to write an epilogue/after-credits scene so keeep an eye out for that. My next fanfiction project will be an alternating pattern of Civil War stories (to be found on my profile) and a spin-off of the Coffee Chronicles called the World on Fire series, starring my OC Viola Stevenson and her adventures with both the agents of SHIELD, the Avengers, Daredevil, and the Inhumans... duh, duh duh. Interested? Stay tuned to my profile or follow me if you have an account. Or you can follow my Tumblr as well. Once again, I am marvelsbestsuperheroine. I don't post much, but when I do there's a good chance it's about the fanfictions.**

 **Anyway, rant over. Enjoy! :D**

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

"We can't just let him roam unsupervised," Natasha was saying. "He's a threat to national security."

"And to himself," Steve added, drumming his fingers on the table.

Some of the Avengers were seated around a large round table, dressed casually but with serious expressions. Sam was there too, sitting at Steve's left with a hand on his mouth and an elbow on the table. The team was making good use of the Tower's latest upgrade, something that had been Pepper's idea, apparently. The Starks had renovated the old training room into what had been dubbed "The Assembling Station" (three guesses by whom). The walls were all made of glass and the abnormal amounts of metal in the room screamed "modernism".

The biggest feature of the room was of course the table, placed in the exact centre with exactly ten plush navy chairs, each with wheels on the bottom, surrounding it. While the table had holographic capabilities, as was to be expected from Stark himself, there was also a projection screen at one end of the room and a projector hanging from the very high ceiling.

Steve, Sam, Clint, Tony, Tania, and Natasha were the only ones seated at the table, all of them clustered to the far side. No one wanted to have this discussion, but it was a conversation that had to be had.

"We understand that, Steve," Clint said, speaking up for the first time. "But we have no proof that he won't go crawling back to Hydra because, for all we know, he could still be under 'The Influence'." He made the quotation gesture almost mockingly.

Jumping on Clint's bandwagon, Natasha agreed before Steve could argue. "There's no way Hydra's completely gone. An organization that lasted that long and ran through as many cracks in SHIELD's defences as it did…" She shook her head and sighed. "We'll be seeing them again. Which means that Bucky has a somewhere to go back _to_."

"We'll just have to get to him first," Tania said determinedly, holding Steve's hand lightly under the table. She brushed her thumb over the dorsal side of his hand rhythmically, back and forth, back and forth.

Tony frowned. "Let's say we find this guy. We capture him, even though he's as jacked up as Steve is but with the added bonus of a deadly metal arm. We stash him in the Tower. Then what?"

"We break their hold over him," Steve said firmly. There was no doubt or question in his voice.

"How?"

"Cognitive recalibration?" He suggested hopefully.

Natasha smirked. "It's been proven to work two times out of three."

"The point is: we'll find a way," Tania summarized. She was trying very hard to be the optimistic one in this situation. She wasn't normally the idealist, but with Steve so torn up about Bucky, someone had to remind the team (especially Steve) that the future was never truly set.

"Not exactly a foolproof plan from the Man-With-A-Plan himself, but count me in," Clint stated, raising a hand.

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Me as well. Clint and I have some rebuilding to do now that all our old covers and information have been leaked, but if you ever need us, we'll come running."

Steve looked to Sam, who sat at his left. Sam's lips turned upward. "Hey man, whatever you need, I'm there. We'll get your friend back."

"Uh, am I the only one who acknowledges the fact that this guy isn't Steve's friend anymore?" Tony interrupted. "He's a trained killer, possibly the best in the world, and he's done more harm than good at this point."

Steve's glare could cut through steel. "You don't think I know that?" Tania could feel his hand tense under the table.

Tony scoffed. "You seem to be pretending that he isn't."

"Bucky is a _person_ , Tony."

"Yeah, a person who, after all this, needs to be put behind bars for all the things he's done."

"He deserves a fair trial, the same as everybody else."

"Uh," piped up Clint, "What is Stark even doing here?" He asked with a sharp jut of his thumb in Tony's direction.

"Free country," Tony replied wryly.

"Since when does he get a say in what happens to Bucky? He has no stake in this."

"Oh and you do?"

"I'm a SHIELD agent dedicated to stopping Hydra in its tracks. That includes getting Bucky back. Why are _you_ here?" His question was accusatory.

Suddenly finding himself on the defensive, Tony leaned back in his chair to feign relaxation. "I'm Steve's friend. Why else?"

"Bullshit. You want to control this meeting like you try and control everything else."

"Boys!" Natasha shouted, one eyebrow twitching in irritation. "Enough. Tony has the technical resources to find Bucky that SHIELD no longer has access to. I asked him to come here. Now play nice."

Seeing that a change of subject was in order, Sam threw his own words onto the table. "First thing's first: how do we find him?"

"What if we let him find us?" Tania suggested. "He must remember something to have saved us. Whether he's completely under his own free will or not is up for debate, but if he remembers something then maybe he'll try and scope out places from his memories. Brooklyn. Germany. Anywhere else he's been."

"It's a start," Natasha commented, shrugging.

"And how do we get him to come with us when we find him?" Sam asked.

"We convince him," Steve answered.

"And if that doesn't work?" Tony's words dripped with doubt.

When Steve didn't reply for a second or two, Tania gave his hand a squeeze and did it for him. "We'll try again."

Tony threw his hands in the air, rolling his eyes so hard that only the whites of them could be seen. "Are you stupid? He'll crush you! You need a back-up plan."

"I'm not going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do," Steve said. "He's been forced to do enough."

"We're not going to brainwash him."

"We can't take away his free will either."

"Why not? We do it with all the other villains we encounter."

"Bucky's not a villain!" Steve snapped.

"So he's just exempt from everything we've ever done on other Hydra assassins because you knew him as a kid? Come on, Steve. You're being ridiculously prejudiced."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "All of those things that he did were _not his fault_."

"That doesn't change the fact that he did them!"

"So he should spend the rest of his life in jail because he was put in an impossible situation and forced to do heinous crimes?"

"I'm saying he should be treated as a dangerous and hostile threat to national- heck, _international_ security until he isn't anymore."

Steve and Tony glared at each other across the table, both unwilling to back down. Only Tania's hand on his arm made Steve look away. Their eyes met and he knew that she understood. She turned to face the others. "Tony, can you whip up some sort of restraining device for Bucky? As an absolute _last_ resort," she assured quickly. "We don't want to take away Bucky's consent, but we also can't let him loose on the world by himself. As much as I hate to say it, people could die. And I, as an Avenger, am not inclined to let that happen.

Murmurs of agreement whispered through the room and around the table. Eventually, Steve sighed, his shoulders drooping. "Alright. Tony?"

After a moment of stiff silence, Tony nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

* * *

A blue shirt landed in Steve's suitcase, followed by a pair of cargo pants and a couple of mismatching socks. It was as if no care at all was going into the potential wardrobe.

Oh wait.

Tania sighed from her vantage point, sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. She watched as Steve quickly but lazily tossed articles of clothing into his shockingly small luggage, not really paying attention to what he was doing. He had just thrown in his seventh pair of socks when she stood up. "Okay, that's it. Wake up, dear. You're daydreaming again."

Steve blinked, then looked down at the eighth pair of socks in his hands. He looked at his suitcase. Back at his hands. He smiled sheepishly and slipped the last pair back in the drawer. "Whoops."

Tania chuckled and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head against his collarbone. In turn, he folded her into his arms and pressed his cheek to her hair. They stood like that for a while, just… enjoying the calm.

"You'll find him," she eventually whispered. "I know it."

He sighed. "I hope so."

"I _know_ so."

He pulled away to look at her. "How can you be so…?"

"Uncharacteristically optimistic?"

He chuckled. "Yeah."

She shrugged, cotton brushing against skin. "Someone has to be."

A large hand slid up her spine to rest against the space between her shoulder blades. "I'm so lucky that I found you."

"More like ran me over."

He chuckled, kissed the top of her head and pulled away. "You're welcome."

She snorted, the answer so unexpected that she couldn't help it. Still giggling, she sat down on the bed again, sinking into the mattress. Steve went back to packing. As the laughter faded, so too did the light of the conversation. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?"

"You have a lot of work to do now that we've decided to buy the shop. It could go off the market any day now and then we'll lose our chance."

"The same thing could be said about Bucky," she said softly.

Steve sighed. "I won't ask you to put your life on hold to help me."

"You know I would do it in a heartbeat, right?"

"Of course. But Sam and I don't have much to go off of right now. It's mostly just scouting locations that Bucky might remember. Boring work."

"That's the only reason I haven't forced myself to come with you." The chances of Steve finding Bucky anytime soon were slim to none, but as soon as they got any higher, Tania knew she would join Steve in his possibly life-long search.

"I appreciate your support in this, Tania. You have no idea how much." He smiled at her across the room, leaning his hip against the dresser so that he could face her, the packing all but forgotten. "I want this for us. Something to call our own."

Rocky woofed and nudged Steve's calf with his head, asking to be petted. Steve knelt down obligingly and scooped the growing pup into his arms. He scratched behind Rocky's ears as his tail wagged excitedly.

"Besides you, of course," Steve cooed.

Tania felt warm at a the sight of her adorable fiancé with their adorable dog. They were both _hers_. "I can also get some early wedding preparations done," she suggested. "We still haven't picked a date."

Steve perked up considerably, still mindlessly scratching. "Did you have one in mind?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I've given it some thought, but no decision has been made. I kind of like the idea of a winter wedding, though. Somewhere with a skylight. Maybe at night time. Hopefully it will be snowing. Or maybe in the summer, on the day we started dating. We could have it outside, maybe in the grass or on a beach…" She sighed.

"Those all sound wonderful."

"Any input?"

He tilted his head. Rocky mimicked him. Then: "Summer. The day we started dating could be romantic. What if we had it in the shop?"

Her eyes widened slightly. She hadn't thought of that. It was a good idea. "I'll put it on the list of possible venues," she said and stood up to get her notebook. It was a wedding planner given to her by Pepper that was decorated with purple and white designs. Tania had to say it was suddenly very useful. She limped over to the nightstand and slid open the drawer, pulling out the book and the accompanying pen.

She scribbled in the new venue and date suggestions as more clothes landed in the suitcase. "What about the best man?" She asked absent-mindedly, her hand moving of its own accord and swirling over the entire page in a pattern of circles and miraculously straight lines.

Steve didn't answer for so long that she'd forgotten she'd asked anything at all, too absorbed was she in drawing this strange picture. She almost didn't hear him. "Tony," he said quietly.

Her hand kept moving even as she looked up. The urge to draw disappeared as quickly as it had come and suddenly she could think clearly again. Blinking, she realized how hard that must have been to answer.

Of course Steve would want Bucky as his best man. How insensitive of her to ask. She mentally slapped herself in the head multiple times. In reality, she set the book aside and hobbled over so that she could hug him again. He squeezed her back, inhaling shaky breaths. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have…"

"No," he interrupted. "It's okay. He might not… I mean, even if we find him…" His stare was boring a hole in the carpet. "Tony and I've have our fights, but he's always been there for me. He's a great friend."

"Yeah," Tania agreed. "But if I tell him that, you can't change your mind. He might throw a hissy fit."

Steve chuckled. "I won't." He looked away suddenly.

She could sense his distance. "What is it?"

"Can I…? Can I invite Bucky? To the wedding?"

"Of course!"

"But.. I mean… before we find him… or maybe the others wouldn't want him there…" He shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

She pulled back just enough to look into his face and gently coaxed his jaw towards her. "He is invited and he is _our_ guest. Whoever has a problem with that can kiss my ass."

"But what if he… does something? To- to ruin it."

Ah. The whole "brainwashed assassin" thing. "Well…" Okay, he had a point. Bucky was dangerous. "What are the odds of him showing up if he's still brainwashed?"

"Well-"

She held up a hand. "Don't answer that. Maybe inviting him wasn't such a good idea."

Even though he'd been the one to point out all of the reasons why Bucky shouldn't come, Steve's face still fell.

"But if we find him before then and he goes through a psych eval and is deemed, you know, sane… then he can be a groomsman."

Steve's answering smile could light up a room. It was an expression he didn't wear often. "I love you."

She pecked him on the nose. "I know."

* * *

Time went by surprisingly quickly. The coffee shop was bought within a week and renovations started the week after. Despite her still healing injuries, Tania wanted to personally oversee most of it. It helped her feel like she was actually doing something as opposed to sitting at her computer like she usually did. Even then she was hard at work.

She paid for Google advertising and reached out on social media to anyone who'd be interested in working there. With some help from Pepper and Peter, Tania had been able to create a decent photo advertisement to send out on Facebook and other websites. After digging up old paperwork from her student days and brushing up on what exactly got her that business degree, she started looking into the sales part of owning and running a business.

Even after graduation she was still studying late into the night, cradling a mug of coffee in her hands and staring at a black and white laptop screen.

Tony kept offering to pay for this or that or everything, but Tania would have none of it. She and Steve had made this investment together and they were going to work hard to get that money back. But Tony was determined. She would occasionally find that he had paid for something (usually something small) without her knowledge or had paid the construction workers to stay longer to get the job done faster. She would then glare at him and mumble under her breath but what's done was done.

October faded into November and the last streaks of warmth flickered away like dying flames. Brittle cold and biting winds swooped in and preyed on the citizens of Manhattan, nipping at their exposed skin.

Tania's leg and chest were healing nicely, the wounds scarring. The coffee shop was also healing nicely, if Tania said so herself. Renovations were over halfway complete and she aspired to open after New Year's.

Many calls came in about the various positions at the store and she conducted many interviews with dozens of applicants. Surprisingly, Peter had been one of those applicants.

"I need a job," he replied when she asked him about it. "Aunt May keeps nagging me to start making some money and get some responsibility and… uh… yeah. Wait, this isn't part of the interview is it? Cause I can sound much more professional than that."

Unsurprisingly, at least to Tania, Peter landed the job of barista/waiter. It was a minimum wage job, but a job nonetheless. Both he and Aunt May were thrilled.

It turned out that Peter wasn't the only familiar face to apply for a job.

Viola's name appeared on one of the many resumes Tania was going through. When she'd reached out via phone call, Viola confessed to having been contacted by Clint about applying. "He knew I was out of a job because of the whole 'SHIELD-Hydra' thing, so he sent me a link to your website."

Well at least Tania knew she had a very good reference.

Viola also landed the position of barista/waitress.

When Tania wasn't preparing for the grand opening of the shop, she was fretting over wedding details. She wanted Steve's input on everything, but Steve wasn't here. He was still out searching for Bucky with Sam. He'd been gone for over a month and she missed him like crazy, but they called each other every other night for chats over coffee, most of which would be spent discussing the upcoming wedding.

The official date was July 30th 2015, tentatively to be held at their coffee shop around sunset. The colour scheme was NOT going to be red, white, and blue (despite many snickers arguing for the contrary). The colours were actually going to be either navy, blue, and yellow or emerald and gold. Or gold and peach and pale green. Or purple and gold. Heck, why not red and gold because Steve was a Gryffindor? Okay, so colours were up in the air at the moment.

They decided that they wanted a small wedding. Less than fifty people for sure. All of the Avengers were invited, of course, as well as various allies such as Peter and Happy and Sam and Rhodey. Tania had managed to video chat with Graham one day to invite him.

He looked different. The quality of the video was not the best, but she could easily tell that his hair was shaved into a buzzcut and there were bags under his eyes. He seemed to carry himself a bit smaller, a bit wiser, but he was just as goofy and smiled just as brightly as she remembered.

He agreed to walk her down the aisle after his tour ended in the spring.

Their parents were not invited. It hadn't been a hard decision to make, but it had been a depressing one. She had cried alone in her room for a quarter of an hour over it. She hadn't cried over her parents in so long that she felt like a kid again, only without a younger brother to pretend to be happy for.

Later in the month, Tania, Pepper, Natasha, Betty, and Jane went dress shopping. They left the store empty-handed on the first try, but with a better idea of what the bride wanted.

It took Tania a long time to decide between Pepper and Natasha for maid of honour. While Tania and Pepper had been very close since the moment she'd walked into the Tower, when Tania moved to Washington with Natasha, the friendship seemed to have switched over. Eventually Tania decided to go with Pepper because part the maid of honour's duties was to help plan the wedding and Pepper was much better with that kind of thing. Natasha assured her that she wasn't at all offended.

Tania had to ask Steve four separate times what kind of cake he wanted, constantly rebuffing his attempts to say, "Whatever you want is what I want" or "I don't have a favourite flavour" or "I'm not used to the luxury of deciding". Eventually he caved and meekly chose chocolate.

November became buried under the thick snow of December and money was starting to get tight. They had no income as of yet AND they were planning a wedding. It was during a particularly stressful night of looking at financial statements that Tania agreed to let Tony _loan_ her some money (with Steve's consent, of course) until the shop was up and running.

It was so easy to keep busy with everything coming up and everything she had to do - easy to stay distracted. She hadn't seen Steve in two months and Steve had so far had no luck in locating Bucky. He'd thought he'd caught a trail once or twice, but both had gone cold too quickly. From the few times she'd spoken to Sam, he seemed to be getting tired of trekking across the globe on a wild goose chase. However, he gave no inclination of wanting to give up.

She was so busy that the strange urges to draw hadn't even bothered her. Even when it became an obsession, she knew she needed an outlet for all the stress so it didn't really bother her. Sure, it was strange that she was drawing the same abstract design over and over and over again, but she figured it was some psychological impulse.

Dr. Niallo seemed worried when Tania mentioned it to her on the phone. Still, Tania didn't have time to worry about it. She had a million other things to fret over in the coming months.

And then Coulson called.

It was a short conversation, clipped and to the point.

"Have you been having any strange urges to create a design made up of circles and straight lines?"

"Yes."

Phil was silent for a bit. "I'm gonna have to call you back."

It took him a week, during which Tania was now actively worrying about her strange habit and also wondering how to beg Steve to come home in time for Christmas. He probably wasn't even aware of the date. Maybe she could get Sam to do it…

"It's called GH-325," said Coulson on the Starkphone. "It's a SHIELD-issue cure meant to save an Avenger's life should they ever…" He cleared his throat. "It was used on me back when Loki came to Earth. The first time," he added as an afterthought. "It's constantly in my system and when Dr. Banner gave us that transfusion…"

"I got some of it," she finished. "But what does that have to do with my drawings?" She had to have at least a hundred of them. The scariest part was that she couldn't bring herself to throw them away. Even the thought made her begin to sweat and shake nervously. All of the pages were stuffed in her closet, piled almost to the ceiling in stacks.

Coulson laughed breathily. "Well, let's just say it has something to do with alien DNA and a secret underground city that may or may not be Atlantis."

She barked out a laugh. "Oh wait, you're serious."

"Unfortunately I'm quite serious. Various people have been injected with GH-325 and have reacted differently to it. You got it secondhand, so the effects haven't been as strong. But I think we have a cure."

"Well, what is it? What can I do?"

"I'm truly sorry to say this, but nothing. I'm doing some research and I'll let you know when you've been cured."

"What?" How was he supposed to cure her if he wouldn't come see her? Before she could question him on his odd choice of words, he hung up. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get into contact with him. She would just have to wait for his call and learn to deal with her "new" addiction.

Somehow she didn't think her therapist would be pleased to learn about aliens and underground cities being the cause of her habit. Dr. Niallo would probably call her out on her "bullshit excuses".

What was Coulson even doing with his life anyway? Ever since the fall of SHIELD, he had been mostly off the radar, barely contacting them and not speaking much about how he occupied his time. The Avengers recognized his secretive tendencies but didn't call him out on it. They trusted him, Clint and Natasha especially. So they didn't pry.

A week before Christmas, Steve came home.

It was a glorious reunion, full of holiday cheer and homemade baked goods courtesy of Clint and Natasha. The lounge was decorated to the nines with green and red and silver and gold and there was a humongous tree in the centre of the room, right over Loki's imprint in the floor. Already a couple of presents had gathered underneath the branches. The Avengers had decided on a Secret Santa this year to avoid having to buy so many presents for each person.

They had a gorgeous family dinner in the dining room, to which Sam and Happy and Rhodey were invited. They had marvellous turkey (several of them, actually) with the typical stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and all the traditional foods, followed by log cake and all washed down with spiked eggnog, courtesy of Tony.

They sang loudly and somewhat off key to Christmas carols on the radio and Steve and Tania brought down their record player to dance to older holiday tunes. Soon everyone was dancing and laughing.

Tania had never felt more at home in her entire life.

On Christmas Eve, Steve coerced her into going to church with him. She felt awkward, having been raised without a religion and therefore unsure of the presence of God, but she sat quietly and listened politely to everything. Many wishes of happy holidays and merry Christmas were exchanged and Steve and Tania walked home hand-in-hand.

Christmas morning was filled with groggy rubbing of eyes and at least a dozen cups of coffee to go around. Clint was like an overexcited puppy, bouncing the entire couch that sat five other people. Some were annoyed, others amused, but no one could bring themselves to dampen the mood.

Presents were exchanged. Tania's secret santa gift giver had been Jane, who had gotten her a lovely pair of silver earrings shaped like small eagles with big sapphire eyes. "Because you're a Ravenclaw," she'd said with a grin. Tania beamed right back and put them on immediately, realizing belatedly that they matched her engagement ring.

Tania had drawn Sam's name and had gotten him a rare poster of his favourite band. It had taken some digging (and hacking on JARVIS' part), but it hadn't been too expensive (just hard to find) and in the end Sam had really liked it so it was all worth it.

On Boxing Day, Tania returned home from shopping with the girls to a voicemail from Phil. "Congratulations. You're cured."


	22. EpilogueAfter-credits scene

**A/N. This is it, guys! This is the END! I hope you guys enjoy this after credits scene. I wrote it with camera angles and stuff in mind. Maybe I should try my hand at a screenplay one day? Anyway, enjoy and catch you later!**

 **Epilogue**

 ** _"IS THERE SOMETHING MORE BREWING WITH STANIA?"_** Screamed the headline in bold, hot pink letters. The article went into slightly more detail, talking about the rumours that the ring of the Avengers' own Sonata, the one that she wore at all times, was actually an engagement ring despite the lack of a big shiny diamond. Sources said that wedding plans were being formulated for an as yet unknown date sometime next year and that it was to be a very private affair.

The article was accompanied by many photos of Tania and Steve, both together and separate at various charity events and sometimes out in public. The biggest photo that took up almost half of the left page of the magazine was a full-body shot of the couple holding hands at the press conference that had been held after the latest Loki incident. There was a red circle surrounding their enjoined hands and efficiently highlighting the blue and silver ring around Tania's left ring finger.

Some speculated it was merely a promise ring, but those anonymous sources told a different story.

The magazine crumpled, bending at awkward angles beneath the strength of thin, feminine fingers that tapered off into well-manicured nails painted a deep blue. The paper gave up and tore in half, its edges becoming jagged and crooked. The two halves shook minutely before falling to the floor. Two drops splashed on the pages.

A pair of converse stepped on them on its way to the couch, where Drew fell into the cushions and cried. Bruises marred her skin from what could be seen of her ankles all the way up to her hairline, tender skin throbbing in nearly every inch of her. There was a cut that had obviously been treated that sat on her forehead and a couple more on her arms and hips. Her lip had been split open and she moved it tenderly as she sobbed.

The house was quiet, filled with furniture and personal belongings but empty except for Drew and the air she struggled to breathe in. It was a lavish house, decorated with posh drapes and animal patterns and metal appliances.

The kitchen smelled like bleach and was cleaned a little too thoroughly. It smelled like the safe house she'd just finished cleaning herself after what happened. There was dirt under her fingernails and wedged in the bottoms of her shoes. Her clothing was unsullied except for the salt water pooling dripping onto her thighs.

Something had happened in the kitchen. Something like what happened at the safe house. She could still hear Rocky's alarmed but protective barking, the smash of a lamp as it shattered on the floor, her own scratchy cries. She could still taste blood in her mouth, feel the part of her tongue she'd nearly bitten off when her jaw had collided with the nightstand.

And then the one person who could possibly help her, who had _tried_ to help her, who could make her feel even the slightest bit better, was _dead_.

Because of the _Avengers._

Another sob tore through her and she slipped forward on the couch, catching herself on the armrest and prying her eyes open. A framed photo sat on the coffee table inches from Drew's face. The picture was of her parents at their wedding, back when they'd been together and happy and in love. It was posed, but the joy was so genuine that it radiated through the glass.

Drew sniffled and gently picked it up, shuffling forward so that she sat on her knees, the frame in her lap. A caption had been engraved into the bottom of the metal frame.

 _Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Pierce_

 _Married November 14th, 1975_

She lightly ran the pad of her index finger over the carved words and numbers, struggling to see them through the blur of tears. "I love you, Dad," she whispered, touching the face of her father in the picture, beaming at the camera. "I'll make them see- see what they've done. I'll show them. I'll make them understand." She sniffled again and harshly wiped at her tears with her forearm. "And if I can't… then I will finish what you started."

The photographed future Secretary of State Alexander Pierce smiled.


End file.
